Let's Play A Game
by Nyx Nox
Summary: The gods of Mount Olympus get bored and decide to play a game. Set during The Titan's Curse. Rated T because I'm a teen. Complete
1. Hera and Zeus Go On Vacation

**A/N: This Fanfiction is based during ****The Titan's Curse****. If you haven't read it, don't blame me for spoiling it for you.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Rick Riordan. So I don't own any of the characters and stuff.**

Hera decided that she and Zeus needed a vacation. Her step "children" were driving her nuts. There was Apollo worrying about the disappearance of his sister and Athena worrying about Annabeth. Not to mention the constant bickering of Hermes and Ares. Aphrodite was the only one behaving "normally." She was looking in her mirror, making sure that her features were beyond perfect. Demeter and Persephone weren't on Olympus (it's the winter) and Hephaestus was in one of his forges working on Hades knows what. Dionysus was at Camp Half Blood and Poseidon was in his underwater palace. It was a week before the Winter Solstice-one of the two most stressful days of the year. Hera had planned on taking Zeus someplace warm, where the two of them could relax. She wasn't sure of where exactly, but they'd pick a location when the time came. About an hour before leaving, she and Zeus called the remaining gods to their thrones. They set the ground rules- No mass chaos, hands off our thrones, don't anger each other, no stealing cattle, don't destroy Olympus, and don't bother us unless there's an emergency. They then went on to describe an emergency. An emergency meant Kronos was back in power or Olympus was under attack. Nothing like the usual complaints of Athena beat me up… again, Hermes stole my cattle, or I broke a nail. After setting the rules, Zeus and Hera left.

Five Minutes Later

"Well, this is boring." Ares grumbled. The gods were still sitting in their thrones. In his rules, Zeus managed to cover just about everything they did on a daily basis. They sat in their thrones musing over what they could do.

"I have an idea." Aphrodite said, breaking the silence. The gods stared at her in awe.

**A/N: Hey readers! I know this fanfic is complete but I'd love it if you'd comment on one or more of the chapters. That way I know if you liked it or didn't. The button is right below this. I don't care if its a sentence or a paragraph! Thanks =]**


	2. Aphrodite Shares Her Idea of the Day

**A/N: I don't know which is more annoying, the fact that the original chapter two went missing or the fact that I can't find it. Well, it's rewritten now.**

"Right, like you'd have an idea." Athena laughed.

"I happen to have plenty of ideas." Aphrodite answered. "I never share them because you don't give me a chance."

"She has a point." Ares agreed. Apollo and Hermes nodded their heads in approval.

"I suppose you should get on with it." Athena stated in a bored tone.

"Maybe I will!" Aphrodite sighed. "Anyway, I have an idea."

Everyone turned their heads to look at Athena. She was laughing loudly.

"What?" She asked when her laughter stopped.

"You're being very rude." Ares said.

"Like you'd care. You happen to be the rudest of everyone here."

"I happen to care a lot about my darling Aphrodite." Hermes made a gagging noise and Apollo rolled his eyes.

"Can't you save the mushy-gushy stuff for when you two are alone?" Apollo asked.

"Yeah." Hermes added.

"Whatever." Ares mumbled.

"As I was saying, I have an idea."

"Quick, say it before you forget!" Athena chided.

"We'll have a contest!" Aphrodite ignored Athena's comment. "Zeus never mentioned anything about us being unable to help out with the quest that the mortals have."

"I bet he thinks that we know not to by now." Apollo shrugged.

"Well he didn't say we couldn't." Hermes mused. "So we technically can't get in trouble..."

"We could all place a bet on how many gods help out with the quest to save Artemis and Athena's kid." Aphrodite continued.

"Her name is Annabeth." Athena said through gritted teeth.

"This could work." Apollo said. "There is always one god who helps with the mortals' quests. Father doesn't pay enough attention to catch them.

"Aphrodite, what's the twist to this?" Athena asked.

"Huh?"

"What are the rules?"

"Oh!" Aphrodite smirked. "They're fairly simple. Don't let Zeus find out, you can't tell the other gods about our contest, and you can't change the amount of drachmas or gods you bet on.

"I'm in!" Ares yelled in excitement.

"Me too." Hermes added.

"Me three." Apollo smirked. Everyone looked expectantly at Athena.

"Oh all right." She murmured. "I'll place a bet."

"Great!" Aphrodite cheered. "Now comes the fun part... Who wants to bet first?"

"I will." Apollo said.


	3. The Gods Bet on Themselves

"I'm betting five drachmas on four of us getting involved." Apollo said as he place five drachmas on the center of the table in front of him.

"I'll bet two drachmas on half of us getting involved." Hermes said. He didn't have a lot of money to bet with. Hermes placed two drachmas next to Apollo's.

"You punks are going down." Ares mumbled. "I'll bet seven drachmas on five of us getting involved." Ares reached into his pocket and pulled out five drachmas. He also placed them on the table.

"I'm betting seven drachmas on seven gods getting involved by the time the quest is over." Aphrodite said happily as she placed seven gold coins on the table. It used to be that you couldn't go wrong with the number seven. It was the luckiest of all the numbers. But times have changed.

"I'll bet twelve drachmas on twelve gods." Athena said. The gods looked at her as though she was crazy. She had planned her win on this game. Athena had come up with a thought that the others hadn't. Winter Solstice was coming. Knowing that the quest did not end until the campers returned to Camp Half Blood, she'd figured that there was a chance of the kids showing up at the Solstice. With a smug smile, Athena placed her twelve drachmas on the table.

Aphrodite drew up a chart that listed each of the twelve gods (Hades doesn't count because he's chilling in the underworld with Persephone) and added boxes next to each name. The boxes were for checkmarks, how else was she going to keep track of everyone? She tapped the list to the side of her throne. The drachmas were placed into a bag and entrusted with Athena. Athena was the only one who wouldn't actually spend the money on anything.


	4. We Aren't on Olympus Anymore

**Disclaimer: I'm not Rick Riordan. Therefore, I don't own the Percy Jackson series.**

One snap decision caused Percy Jackson to consider following the group on the quest. He had promised Nico that he'd watch over Bianca. How was he supposed to follow a group of people in a car when he only had Annabeth's cap, the clothes he was wearing, and his sword? He'd just finished thinking over his getaway when Blackjack arrived. Next thing Percy knew, he was flying on a pegasus over New York. He attempted to keep Blackjack in the clouds and watch the van that the quest kids were traveling in. After losing the van twice, Percy decided to fly a little lower. He'd figured that the group would go to Manhattan. Percy grew tired of following the van.

"Why aren't they stopping?" He asked himself.

_There's a girl driving._

"A girl? I thought Argus was-"

_Yeah, the Hunter girl with that silver crown thing on her head._

"You mean Zoë?" Percy asked.

_Yes… I think_

Percy landed Blackjack on the roof of the Chrysler Building.

* * *

Around nine a.m., Dionysus woke up. He tried to sleep in a lot of the time, but it was almost impossible to do. The campers always woke up at ungodly hours of the morning. As the head of the camp, it was sort of his job to make sure that the kids were always fed and stuff. He never did. That was why he left Chiron in charge of just about everything. After getting dressed in his normal outfit of tiger print t-shirts and khakis, he exited the big house. The campers were already up. The members of Aphrodite's cabin were fighting with Hermes' cabin. Kids were throwing snowballs at each other. Dionysus looked at his watch. There was about five more minutes until breakfast was served. He slowly made his way over to the mess hall, just as the bell signaling breakfast went off. As head of the camp, there was one thing that Dionysus kept track of. That thing was the students who came and left the camp. He knew that four people had left the camp to go on the quest. So there would be no one at Zeus' table, two hunters missing from Artemis' table, and one Satyr missing. He also knew that Annie or whatever her name is was M.I.A. So there would be one kid missing from Athena's cabin. Dionysus counted the campers as they settled into their tables. Everyone was accounted for except Poseidon's kid. Wait a second... Poseidon's kid was gone. Dionysus ordered Chiron to go look for Percy.

A few minutes later, Chiron came back.

"There's no sign of him." Chiron announced nervously. Dionysus nearly exploded.

"What do you mean there's no sign of him?" He asked angrily.

"I mean there's no sign of him… as in he's not here." Chiron said slowly.

"No one is supposed to leave this camp without _my_ permission." Dionysus said. "I'm going to find Perry Johnson and I will bring him back here." He stood up and walked away from the table. Using his camper sensing powers, he found the location of Percy.

Dionysus changed to his godly form and disappeared. He reappeared at the top of the Chrysler Building in his human form. After spotting Percy and Blackjack, he began to mumble a few words in ancient Greek. Grape vines began wrapping themselves around the two. Percy and Blackjack were completely oblivious to the vines.

"Let's go." Percy said. Blackjack reared up to leave but he couldn't move. The pegasus whinnied, just noticing the grape vines. Percy looked down and saw the vines.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dionysus asked, announcing himself for the first time.

_It's the wine dude!_ Blackjack announced.

"The 'wine dude' can hear you." Dionysus said.

"Mr. D, wh-what do you want?" Percy asked "calmly".

"You're asking me what _I_ want? Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice that you left camp without _my_ permission?" Dionysus asked.

"Well, yeah. I figured there was a slight chance of you not noticing." Percy answered; he was starting to get angry. "Why do you care? Don't you understand? I have to go on this quest. I can't just abandon Anna-my friends. I _need_ to help with this quest. Can you try to understand that?"

_Don't anger him. I don't want him to throw us off the building._ Blackjack thought.

Dionysus was beginning to lose his temper. He made the grape vines tighten themselves around Percy and the pegasus. Percy tilted his head to keep track of the van. It took him a moment but he found it. It was getting farther away. If he couldn't come up with a way of convincing Mr. D to let him go, he'd never make it.

"Why should I understand that? You're exactly like all of the other little heroes that appeared throughout my life. Have you ever heard of Ariadne?" Dionysus didn't pause for Percy to answer. "She helped her friends. In fact, she helped Theseus. She gave him a ball of yarn. The yarn was magical. It helped Theseus get out of the Labyrinth. Theseus promised to marry her. He didn't. He abandoned her on an island. That was where I found her. I fell in love with her and now she's my immortal wife."

"Didn't you get in trouble for chasing a wood nymph?" Percy butted in.

"That's unimportant." Dionysus mumbled. "All I'm saying is that you heroes are selfish kids who use everyone. You don't ever repay people. If you must know, go ask Zoë Nightshade."

"Why should I ask Zoë?" Percy asked.

"You know what, never mind. Why don't you go back to following your friends?" Dionysus said.

"Wait a second?" Percy asked. "You're letting me go?"

"Yeah, maybe I am Perry. Besides, the prophecy says that two of you will die. If I'm lucky, it'll be you."

"Sir, my name is Percy." Percy said.

"Whatever. Even if you do survive, you're not going to change my view on half bloods." Dionysus said. With a snap of his fingers, the vines around Percy and Blackjack disappeared, taking Dionysus with them.

* * *

Apollo cleared his throat. He'd been watching over everything that'd happened between Percy and Dionysus.

"Umm… I do believe Dionysus just 'helped' out with the quest." He said. He wasn't really sure of whether or not what just happened would count on the list. But, Aphrodite was the one who came up with the idea; she was rather relaxed about almost everything; so, Dionysus probably counted.

"What happened?" Hermes asked excitedly.

"Dionysus stopped Percy from leaving. Then he gave him some... Constructive words after allowing Percy to join the quest." Apollo said. "I wasn't sure if that'd count."

"YES! Of course it counts" Aphrodite cheered. "That's one god down." She took the list off of her chair and checked off Dionysus' name. She decided that everything Dionysus said after "go back to following your friends" counted as a god helping. Even if he did wish the worst for Percy.


	5. Dreams Like a Podcast

**Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan. So, I don't own Percy Jackson or any other things mentioned from The Titan's Curse. The only thing I own is the plot.**

Apollo desperately wanted to help out the kids on the quest. He wasn't sure of how he'd help out, but he was going to find a way. First off, he wanted to find some cool costume to wear. Apollo couldn't just show up in his regular clothing, that wouldn't be fun enough. He also wanted a matching name to go with it. After pacing for about four minutes, Apollo came up with his idea.

"A homeless man!" He said to himself. To find his costume, Apollo went to Athena.

"Do you know where I can find some over used clothing?" He asked.

Athena looked at Apollo for a moment. She wondered why he came to her instead of Aphrodite. Then she remembered the last time he had asked Aphrodite for help with clothing. After asking for a new outfit to go with the current decade, (The 1970's) Apollo had ended up in an over the top disco outfit. She shivered at the thought. The 70's had always been her least favorite decade in the 1900's.

"Why do you need different clothes?" Athena asked after recovering from the memory. She had a feeling that she already knew the answer.

"Well you see, I'm planning on helping out the kids on the quest. They are going to help _my_ sister after all." Apollo started. "So I figured-"

"That didn't answer my question." Athena snapped.

Apollo smirked when he realized that Athena hadn't fully figured out his plan. After receiving a glare from the goddess of wisdom, he continued. "Well, father has been watching me ever since I almost got that demigod killed. I figure he would pay less attention to me if I was incognito. I have my outfit planned-I'm going to be a homeless person. Now I just need a cool name to go along with it."

Athena handed Apollo a pair of ripped pants and a shirt. She had summoned them. "How about the name Fred?" She suggested. After dealing with Apollo for the last century, she knew he'd reject her idea and go through a giant list of his own ideas and then he'd end with claiming her own idea. If she didn't suggest anything, he'd get mad at her and storm away hating her for the next day or so.

"No, that sounds to boring." Apollo said. "How about… Bill, Dale, Calvin... no, or Otto, Finn, Pierce, Zane, no I don't like those one's either." Athena rolled her eyes as she listened to Apollo list off a bunch of names. "Leo, Elliott, or…. FRED! Yes Fred, that's an awesome name!" Athena sighed and handed Apollo the outfit that he was looking for. She'd left quickly during the ten minutes that he'd spent on listing names. Obviously, Apollo didn't notice.

"You should do something with your face." Athena said. "Dressing in a new outfit won't stop the kids or _dad_ from recognizing you."

"Aww… fine." Apollo whined. He changed his appearance with a snap of his fingers. In the place of the handsome, clean, black haired god stood a pathetic looking man with missing teeth and a grimy face.

"What do you think?" He asked Athena.

"You look… great." She said.

"Well I'm off." Apollo said. "The kids are on a train at a moment. I'm assuming they'll be at the end of the rail in about five minutes." Apollo turned around to leave. Then he turned to face Athena and placed his arms up, expecting a hug. Athena looked disgusted.

"I'm sorry, I don't hug guys." She said. With that, Athena turned on her heel and left.

"I don't give hugs. She's starting to sound like Artemis." Apollo mocked Athena and disappeared.

Apollo reappeared at the end of a railway yard in Washington D.C. He found a trash barrel and used his godly powers to get a fire going inside the barrel. Apollo took out his car keys. He clicked a button and his Maserati appeared. Another click and the car turned into a freight train. Apollo was ready for the kids now.

Two minutes later, Percy and his friends got off the train they were on. They wandered around, looking for another passenger train. After passing rows and rows of empty freight cars, they came across a homeless man standing in front of a trash-can. The trashcan was on fire. Apollo grinned and beckoned the kids towards him. They were shivering in the cold.

"You kids look frozen, why don't ya'll come over here and warm up?" He asked.

Everyone shuffled over.

"Th-th-th-thankss." Thalia said.

"My hooves are freezing." Grover complained.

"Feet." Percy said. He didn't want to confuse the homeless man.

"What should we do now?" Bianca asked. "Do you suppose we should ask for help?"

"No, we can't ask for help. We need to finish the quest by _ourselves_." Zoë said sternly. The group looked solemn.

"You're never alone you know." Apollo said. His face was set in a kindly manner. His disguise worked. The kids didn't recognize him. The gods could really be incognito! "Do you kids need a train heading west?"

"Yes, do you know of any?" Percy asked.

Apollo pointed to the freight train located behind the five kids. The kids turned around and looked at the freight in awe. Apollo took the moment that the kid's backs' were turned to get into the train.

"That's convenient." Thalia said.

"Thanks." Percy said as he turned around to thank the man but he had disappeared.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Bianca stated. "Why don't we get in?"

"Let us go." Zoë said. The kids slowly entered the train. After everyone settled into separate compartments, the train began to move.

Percy Jackson entered Grover's compartment. Grover was fast asleep. Percy knew that he should get to sleep but he was afraid about having another dream about Annabeth. Apollo sneaked into the same compartment. He had been reading Percy's mind. By doing so, Apollo realized that Percy was afraid of dreaming. He smiled as he said, "Don't be afraid of dreams." Percy turned around. He hadn't realized that the homeless man had entered the compartment.

"If it weren't for dreams," Apollo continued, "I wouldn't know half the things I know about the future. They're better than the Olympus tabloids." Apollo felt a haiku coming on. He cleared his throat and held up his hands dramatically as he said

"Dreams like a podcast,

Downloading truth in my ears.

They tell me cool stuff." (Page 157, PJTC)

"Apollo?" Percy asked. After hearing a bunch of Apollo's haikus, he knew that no one else could make that bad of a haiku. Apollo lifted his finger to his lips. Yeah, he'd given himself away but the demigods would of figured out who he was eventually.

"I'm incognito. Call me Fred." Apollo said.

"A god named Fred?"

"Well you see, Zeus doesn't exactly want us gods to help out with human quests. Even if something is majorly wrong. I'm not allowing anyone to mess with my baby sister. Not anyone."

"Can you help us though?"

"I already have. Haven't you looked out the window?"

Percy glanced outside and was surprised to find the outside world passing by very quickly.

"How fast are we going?" He asked.

"Fast enough. But, we're running out of time. It's almost sunset. We've traveled across a decent amount of America." Apollo said.

"Do you know where Artemis is?"

"That I don't know." Apollo said quietly.

"What about Annabeth?"

"Athena's kid?" Apollo asked. "I don't know."

"What about that monster Artemis was seeking?" Percy asked. He hated how Apollo casually talked about Annabeth. He spoke as if she was unimportant. "Do you know what the monster is?"

"No, not really." Apollo said. "But I can think of someone who does know. If you don't find the monster by the time you reach San Francisco, go find Nereus-the old man of the sea. He has a long memory. He can see things that my Oracle can't."

"Isn't it your oracle?" Percy protested. "Couldn't you explain what the prophecy means?

Apollo sighed. "Even if I could, I wouldn't."

"So you don't know then."

Apollo looked at his watch. "Look at the time! I have to go. And I doubt that I'll be able to help you again. You need to sleep and when you return. I'll be expecting a great haiku about your journey." Apollo snapped his fingers and reappeared on Olympus.

Athena, Ares, Hermes, and Aphrodite were all gathered in the throne room. Athena had been listening to the conversations between the three and watching what Apollo had been doing. She noticed that he'd finished and was about to announce that another god could be crossed off when the doors to the throne room flung open.

"I'm back!" Apollo announced. The gods looked at him as if he was crazy.

"From… where?" Aphrodite asked as she looked over Apollo's outfit with great distaste. He was still in his homeless outfit.

"I just helped out the kids." He answered with the most dramatic voice he could muster. "I provide a form of safety, warmth, and transportation." Aphrodite eyed him carefully.

"I don't believe you." She said.

"He's telling the truth." Athena stated. "I've been watching for the last hour or so."

"Well I don-"

"Are you honestly doubting me? I am the goddess of wisdom after all."

Hermes sensed another fight coming. He hated when Athena and Aphrodite fought. Aphrodite always got "mortally" wounded and Athena always won.

"Does it really matter whether or not he's telling the truth? Everyone believes him except you." He said, attempting to end the argument before it started.

"Pffft. Fine." Aphrodite said with a frown. She grabbed the list from the side of her throne and checked off Apollo. After the list was checked, she grabbed Ares and left the room.

"Well now that that's over…" Apollo said. "I can change." He snapped his fingers and appeared the way he was before he'd left.

"Why were you dressed as a homeless person?" Hermes asked. He hadn't seen anything that had happened throughout the last few hours of the quest.

"That's unimportant at the moment." Apollo answered quickly.

"Nicely done, Fred." Athena said before standing up.


	6. I Never Behead my Enemies

"I want to help." Aphrodite said sternly to Ares. The two were sitting in a white stretch limo. Ares was in the driver's seat and Aphrodite sat in the back redoing her always perfect makeup.

"Why do you want to help?" Ares grunted. He didn't see why they needed to help Poseidon's twerp and his friends. If the two of them helped, it'd bring Athena closer to winning.

"Because I was the one who came up with this game and it wouldn't make sense if I didn't play my own game." Aphrodite snapped. "Besides, you don't have to talk to Poseidon's kid; there are plenty of other children."

Ares knew there was no stopping Aphrodite once she put her mind to it. He had no choice but to give in. "Fine." was all he said. With that, he placed the key in the ignition and set the car on autopilot and off they went. Ares moved back to were Aphrodite sat.

A large white limo came to a quick stop just in front of where Bianca and Percy were talking. The kids stared in confusion as the buff god Ares stepped out of the back of the car, sword in hand, and went straight at Percy. Percy gasped and backed away slowly. Ares knife was pressed against his chin. Zoë and Bianca grabbed there bow and arrows and pointed them at the god.

"At ease, people." Ares said. He snapped his fingers and the girls weapons fell out of their hands. "I'm here on friendly terms. Although, I'd love to have your head." With that, Ares drove his sword a little bit farther under Percy's chin. Aphrodite coughed from were she sat in the limo.

"Ares..." Percy grumbled.

"Then again, I never behead my enemies in front of a lady." Ares added quickly.

"Lady? What lady?" Thalia asked.

Ares turned his head towards where Thalia stood. So the rumors were true, Zeus' kid was back. Another chess piece in the playing field.

"I heard you were back." He said. Ares took his sword away from Percy's chin and turned to face Thalia. "Thalia, daughter of Zeus. You're not hanging out with very good company."

"I can pick who I hang out with." Thalia snapped. "What's your business anyways, Ares? And who's in the car?"

Ares was enjoying the attention he was getting from the group of kids. He smiled before answering. "I doubt that _she_ wants to meet the rest of you. Particularly not them." Ares pointed at Zoë and Bianca. "Why don't you go get some tacos? It'll only take Jackson a few minutes."

"We will not leave him alone with thee, Lord Ares." Zoë said.

"And the taco place is closed." Grover said in a just audible whisper. He didn't want to anger the war god.

"Demigods_ are always so picky."_ Ares thought to himself. Ares snapped his fingers and the store blazed to life. The closed sign switched to open and the smell of tacos filled the air. "You were saying, goat boy?"

"Go on guys, I'll handle this." Percy told his group. His attempt at sounding confident failed.

"You heard the boy." Ares said. "He's big and strong. He can take care of himself."

Zoë, Bianca, Thalia and Grover reluctantly left for the taco restaurant. While that happened, Ares glared at Percy and proceeded to open the limousine door as if he were a chauffeur.

"Get inside punk." Ares said. "And mind your manners. She's not as forgiving of rudeness as I am."

Percy slowly entered the limo. His jaw dropped when he saw Aphrodite. She was wearing a beautiful, long, red satin gown. Her hair was blond and extremely curly. Percy tried to speak but he couldn't form the words. Aphrodite patiently waited for him to collect himself. She smiled before saying "There you are, Percy. I am the goddess Aphrodite." Percy sat in the seat across from her.

"Um... uh... gah." Was all he'd managed to say. Aphrodite smiled again.

"Aren't you sweet? Hold this please." She handed Percy a huge polished mirror.

"Sooo, do you know why I'm here?" Aphrodite asked as she dabbed her lipstick.

Percy was failing at forming complete sentences. He sat in the seat for a moment before pinching himself to snap out of it. "I... I don't know?" he managed to ask.

"Oh dear... still in denial?" She said understandingly. Ares, who was still standing outside the limo, had heard everything. He began to laugh. The kid was really oblivious; even he had known that Percy was annoyed about losing his blond friend. Ares laughter brought Percy out of his stupor. He was beginning to get mad.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Percy said. He was finally forming complete sentences.

"Well," Aphrodite mused, "why are you on this quest?"

"Artemis has been captured!"

"Artemis? _Puh-lease._ She's the most hopeless case I've ever seen. Besides, if they were going to kidnap a goddess, they would've picked a much prettier goddess. Someone who is breathtakingly beautiful, someone like me. Don't you think? I feel so bad for the poor dears who have imprisoned Artemis. She's soooo boring." Aphrodite ranted.

"She was chasing after _a bad _monster. We need to find it." Percy protested.

"Could lift my mirror up a bit?" Aphrodite asked. She had just noticed a little bit of mascara that was missing off the corner of her eye. Percy lifted the mirror up. "Always some monster... but Percy, the _others_ is on this quest to find her. I'm more interested in why you're on this quest."

Percy slowly looked up at Aphrodite. He didn't really want to answer, but the words came out anyways. "Annabeth is in trouble."

Aphrodite beamed. The boy had finally figured out his feelings. "Exactly!"

"I have to help her. I keep having these dreams." Percy continued.

"You're dreaming about her? That's soo cute!" Aphrodite's smile grew larger.

"NO!... I.. not like that-that's not what I meant." Percy stuttered.

Aphrodite made a tsking noise. She hated how oblivious boys were to their feelings. "Percy, I'm on _your _side."

"What do you mean you're on my side?" Percy asked.

"Do you honestly think I care about saving Artemis? I'm more interested in _your_ quest, a quest for true love."

"Hey... I never said-"

"You don't need to say it. I'm sure you're aware that Annabeth was close to joining the Hunters."

"I wasn't sure-"

"She was about to throw her life away! No contact with boys... ever. I know that you don't want that to happen. You can save her from that life!" Aphrodite said.

"Oh... umm... well-"

"You can put the mirror down," Aphrodite ordered. Her reflection looked great. "I look fine." With that, Percy put down the mirror. His arms were extremely sore.

"Listen now Percy." Aphrodite said. "The hunters are your enemies. Forget about them, Artemis, and the monster. They're unimportant. You need to focus on finding and saving Annabeth."

"Do you know where she is?" Percy asked.

Aphrodite waved her hand around. "No, I'm leaving the details to you. Besides, its been ages since we've had a good tragic love story."

_Tragic?_ Percy thought. He shook his head before saying "Wait a minute. I never said anything about love. And what's up with tragic?"

"Love conquers all," Aphrodite promised. A glint was just visible in her eye. Her face was sincere. "Look at Helen and Paris. Did they let anything come between them?"

Percy thought for a moment. "Didn't they start the Trojan War, causing thousands of people to die?"

"Pffft. That's not the point. Follow your heart."

"But... I don't know where my heart is going."

"Not knowing is half the fun!" Aphrodite said. "Painful isn't it? Not being sure of who you love and who loves you. It's so cute. I'm going to cry."

"Don't do that." Percy said. He didn't need to see the beautiful goddess cry.

"And don't worry. I'm not going to make this easy and boring for you. I have some wonderful surprises in store for you. Anguish. Indecision. Oh, you wait."

"Oh no, that's okay. You don't need to go to any trouble."

"You're so cute. I wish that all my daughters could break the heart of a boy as nice as you." Aphrodite's eyes began to tear up. "Now, you'd best go. And be careful in my husband's territory. Don't take anything. His is soo fussy about his trinkets and trash."

"What?" Percy asked. Husband… what husband? Percy thought for a moment before he spoke again. "You mean Hephaestus?"

The car door opened before Aphrodite could reply. Ares pulled Percy out of the car and back into the desert.

"You're lucky punk." Ares said as he pushed Percy away from the car. "Be grateful."

"What should I be grateful for?"

"That we're being so nice. If it was up to me-"

"So why haven't you killed me yet?" Percy shot back. He realized his mistake after he spoke but he honestly didn't care. Ares always caused him to feel angry.

"I would love to kill you." Ares said. "But there have been rumors. Word on Olympus is that you might start the biggest war on Olympus. I don't want to risk messing that up. And Aphrodite thinks you're some kind of soap opera star or something. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my promise. One of these days, you're going to need your sword to fight and you _will_ feel the wrath of Ares."

Percy balled his fists. "Why should I wait? I beat you once. How's your ankle?"

Ares grinned crookedly. "Not bad, punk. You've got nothing on the master of taunts. I'll fight when I'm good and ready. Until then... Get lost." Ares snapped his fingers, the world did a three-sixty spin, and a cloud of red dust appeared. When the dust disappeared, Percy and his friends were standing in the middle of the junkyard. The taco restaurant was gone and the limousine was nowhere in sight.

The two gods reappeared in the throne room of Olympus. They were greeted by an extremely happy Hermes, a semi-depressed Apollo, and an angry Athena.

"Anguish, indecision?" Athena asked. Anger hinted in her voice. "What were you going on about?"

"I wasn't talking about your daughter. I was talking about the boy." Aphrodite answered.

"Anything you do to him will affect my daughter somehow."

"I can't guarantee anything."

"Gods! You're so annoying!" Athena almost screamed. She stormed out of the throne room.

Hermes was smiling. "Well then... What are you planning on doing with the duo anyway?"

"Why would I tell you?" Aphrodite asked. She knew better than to trust Hermes.

"And what about my sister being unimportant?" Apollo asked. "I think she is very important. Even if we don't always get along."

"Then why haven't you been helping her?" Ares asked as he sat down is his throne.

"Because the kids have that stupid quest. And dad has that rule."

"You already broke that rule." Aphrodite stated.

"Technically, Fred broke the rule." Hermes said. Apollo smiled. He and Hermes had been on the best of terms since Zeus forced them to befriend each other after the many cow related incidents.

"Yeah, he did."

"Why are you two smiling so much?" Aphrodite asked.

"No reason." They said in unison. They didn't need her to know about the prank they had come up with.

"You two are weird." Aphrodite sat down in her chair. She pulled out her list and her pink pen with a feather attached to it. She checked off Ares name. When she went to check off her name, Hermes quietly snapped his fingers. A loud crack was heard throughout the room, followed by a shriek of pain and laughter.

"Ow! I broke my nail." Aphrodite screamed as she looked at what was left of her once long finger nail. "I was actually growing it out without speeding up time or anything. Now I'm going to need to re-grow it. And I can't speak to Zeus about it because he was all like 'no calling about broken nails and such.'

She glared at Hermes and Apollo before leaving the room. Ares just stood there, unsure of whether or not he wanted to laugh with the guys or go make sure that Aphrodite was okay.


	7. We'll Be Going Down Several Hundred Feet

**Disclaimer: I'm a girl, so I'm not Rick Riorden. Since I'm not Rick Riorden, I don't own any of this (besides the plot to this fanfic)**

"What are you talking about?" Percy demanded. He and the quest group stood in the rubble left over from Talos. They were desperately searching for Bianca. She had gone into the robot to shut it down. She wasn't anywhere in the rubble.

Grover's eyes filled up with tears before he answered. "The prophecy. _One shall be lost in the land without rain_." Everyone was silent.

_They were standing in the middle of the desert and Bianca was gone._

* * *

Aphrodite shook her head. _I warned him. I said they shouldn't take anything from his junkyard. Yet the girl took something anyways_. She thought. The gods stood around the throne room, they'd been watching what had happened. None of them actually knew the girl that had died. She wasn't one of theirs. They'd seen the way that she'd killed the skeleton. That action gave them and idea as to who godly parent was but they weren't going to bring it up with Zeus. The silence wouldn't last for long.

"Well... he helped complete that part of the prophecy." Ares said. Everyone knew who Ares was talking about-he was talking about Hephaestus. This was obvious because the kids had just been in Hephaestus' junkyard.

"Only you would consider someone's death as helping." Athena grumbled.

"I told you something tragic would happen." Aphrodite said as she checked her husband off of the list. "He helped them understand the prophecy. Besides, it wasn't that great of a loss. She was one of Artemis' maidens after all."

Athena was seated in her throne. She was watching the campers on their quest. She knew that she'd need to help them out at one point or another. They were currently at the Hoover Dam, one of Annabeth's favorite architectural structures. Athena looked around the rest of the area. She noticed the van that had been following the group around. Skeletons had just exited it. The kids hadn't even noticed them yet. _Wow, these kids are oblivious._ Athena thought to herself. She decided that she should help them. She dressed as a park ranger. It made sense, why shouldn't the goddess of wisdom help out by providing a form of knowledge? Athena decided to pull her long, currently black hair into a simple ponytail. Her gray eyes would probably scare the mortals. She decided to wear black, tinted sun glasses. Athena snapped her fingers and appeared at the Hoover Dam.

Athena walked over to the park ranger station. Nobody questioned her authority. A group of people stood waiting for the next tour to begin. She took a deep breath before beckoning to them.

"Hello, my name is Athena," She started. Please note that Athena didn't need to change her name because there are people named after her. "I'll be your tour guide for the next ten minutes or so. If you'll follow me, I'll lead you to the turbines." She began to walk and continued on with her speech. "There are seventeen main turbines. Any questions?"

A young boy looked up at her and said "How does water reach the turbines?"

"The water reaches the turbines through four penstocks. There are two stocks on either side of the river." She stopped walking because they had come to the elevator. Athena pushed the button and the elevator arrived. She entered and everyone else followed. Athena looked over the crowd as she waited for the doors to close. She immediately recognized Percy Jackson. He was running from the skeletons that she'd spotted earlier. He ran past the guard who was working the metal detector and into the elevator just before the doors closed.

"We'll be going down seven hundred feet." Athena said happily. She sensed that some people were worried about the elevator breaking. "Don't worry ladies and gentlemen, the elevator hardly ever breaks." She added.

"Does this go to the snack bar?" Percy asked the tour guide, he didn't recognize Athena. A few people laughed at his question. Athena rolled her eyes. Nobody noticed because of her sunglasses.

"To the turbines, young man," She said. "Weren't listening to my _fascinating_ presentation upstairs?"

"Oh, uh, sure." Percy said stupidly. "Is there another way out of the dam?"

"It's a dead end," A male tourist wearing a floral shirt said, "For heaven's sake. The only way out is the other elevator." The doors to the elevator opened.

"Go right ahead, folks," Athena said. "Another ranger is waiting for you at the end of the corridor." The group exited with Percy slowly trailing behind them.

"And young man," Athena called to him. She'd taken off her glasses to reveal her gray eyes. Percy looked back at her. "There is always a way out for those _clever enough_ to find it." The doors to the elevator closed. Athena snapped her fingers and went back to her throne on Olympus.

The gods were all seated in their thrones. They had been watching Athena- none of them had believed that she would actually help Poseidon's kid.

"Well done." Hermes said. "You actually helped them... Although I didn't really get your hint."

"It was an easy enough one... He just needs to think about it. Besides, they already saw what I was talking about." Athena answered. "And don't act so surprised. They're attempting to save Artemis and _my_ daughter."

"We didn't see what you were talking about." Ares said.

"You know those statues that I dedicated to father?"

"You mean the ones that everyone rubs the toes for good luck or whatever?" Aphrodite asked.

"That would be them." Athena said.

"What are they supposed to do with the statues?" Hermes asked.

"They'll figure it out themselves."

"And if they don't?" Apollo asked.

"I'm telling you, they'll get it."

"If you say so." Aphrodite said. She checked of Athena's name.

* * *

"Four against eleven." Zoë muttered. "And they can't die."

"It's been nice adventuring with you guys." Grover said, his voice was trembling.

"Whoa," Percy said as he turned around to look at the bronze statues. "Their toes really are bright."

"Percy this isn't the time." Thalia said. Percy didn't turn around. He was busy staring at the two humongous statues. His mind was working quickly. _The toes were shiny because people rubbed them for good luck. Good Luck. The blessing of Zeus. _Percy thought about the tour guide he'd met in the elevator. He vividly remembered her gray eyes and her smile. She'd said that '_there is always a way for those clever enough to find it.'_ Percy got an idea.

"Thalia," He said. "Pray to your dad."

Thalia glared at him, giving him a look that clearly said _are you crazy?_ "He never answers."

"Just this once." Percy pleaded. "Ask for help. I think... I think the statues can give us some luck."

The skeletons were advancing, getting closer and closer.

"Do it!" Percy yelled.

"No!" Thalia said. "He won't answer."

"This time is different!"

"Who says?"

Thalia stumped Percy for a moment. He tried to remember where else he had seen those gray eyes. Annabeth came to his mind. Her mother, Athena. He hesitated before saying "Athena, I think."

Thalia was scowling. The only thing that she was thinking about was how crazy Percy was. He honestly expected her to pray to her father? She had prayed to him when she was a tree and he never answered. Why would today be different?

"Try it." Grover pleaded.

Thalia closed her eyes. Her lips moved in a silent prayer. Percy put in his own prayer to Annabeth's mom. Desperately hoping that it was she who had been in the elevator- that she was trying to help them save her daughter.

Nothing happened.

* * *

"Who dares to interrupt my vacation?" Zeus roared, causing Hera to look at him. He and Hera were relaxing on a barren beach in Jamaica. Zeus frowned as he looked to see which of his children had called for him. His expression softened as he realized it was Thalia. She and her friends were in trouble. A group of skeletons were closing in on them. They were at the Hoover Dam, just in front of the statues that Athena had dedicated to him. Zeus snapped his fingers and the statues sprang to life.

"Which one of them was it?" Hera asked. She was rather annoyed with the fact that Zeus tended to pick his children over her.

"Thalia." He stated. Hera frowned; of course it was the girl who wasn't supposed to be alive.

* * *

The statues rose, casting a shadow over Percy and Thalia. They looked up to find them standing over them. Five skeletons looked up at the statues, to be swept a side by a long bronze wing. The remaining six opened fire. The kids backed up to protect themselves from the bullets but they didn't need to. The two statues stood in front of them and folded their wings like shields. Bullets pinged off them. The angels slashed outward, and the skeletons flew across the road.

"Man, it feels good to stand up!" One of the angels said. His voice was extremely dry.

"Will ya look at my toes?" The other one said. "Holy Zeus, what were those tourists thinking?" Percy and the group stared at the angels. Percy was the first to recover. The skeletons were reassembling themselves.

"Trouble!" He said.

"Get us out of here!" Thalia yelled, causing both angels to look down at her.

"Zeus's kid?"

"Yes!"

"Could I get a _please, _miss Zeus's kid?" The first angel who spoke asked.

"Please!" Thalia pleaded.

The angels looked at each other and shrugged.

"I could use a stretch." One of them said. One of them grabbed Thalia and Percy, and the other grabbed Zoë and Grover. They flew up in the air, away from the skeletons.

* * *

"I told you so." Athena said with a smile. She had taken Aphrodite's list and checked off Zeus.

"I told you so." Ares mocked. Aphrodite hit him off the side of the head.

"Would you stop doing that? It gets really annoying." She said.

"Would you stop do-" Apollo began to mimic Aphrodite.

"Same thing goes for you," she pointed at Apollo, "and you." She pointed at Hermes. "Why can't you guys act more maturely?"

"It's impossible for them to do so. You of all people should know that." Athena said.

"You're the annoying know it all." Ares said.

"And you're the annoying cry baby." Ares rose from his throne, taking out his knife.

"What are you trying to say shrimp?" He roared.

"Oh nothing." Athena said. "You should probably put that away," she was looking at Ares knife. "I don't think dad would want to know that you were fighting me."

"I don't think he'd want to know that you helped out with the quest." Ares shot back.

"So did you and everyone else in this room." Athena reminded him.

Ares groaned. "I hate having a know-it-all for a sister."


	8. Well That Was Fun

"It'd be a shame to kill you before you witnesses Thalia's great victory." The manticore said.

"What are you talking about?" Thalia growled. She held her shield and spear, ready to attack.

"Surely it is clear," the manticore said. "This is your moment. This is why Lord Kronos brought you back to life. You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. You will bring its entrails to the sacred fire on the mountain. You will gain unlimited power. And for your sixteenth birthday, you will overthrow Olympus."

Everyone was silent. Thalia just stared at the manticore. It made sense, she was going to turn sixteen in two days. On top of that, she was a child of the big three. And now, she had the chance to make a choice that could mean the end of the gods. The group was staring at Thalia, waiting for her to tell the manticore off. She didn't move, she just stood there staring.

"You know it is the right choice," the manticore told Thalia. "Your friend Luke recognized it. You shall be reunited with him. You shall rule this world together under the auspices of the titans." Luke- the one boy that Thalia missed. "Your father abandoned you, Thalia. He cares nothing for you." The manticore had a point. If her father had actually cared, Thalia wouldn't have spent a decent amount of her life as a tree. "And now you shall gain power over him. Crush the Olympians underfoot as they deserve." Thalia wanted power. But to use it against the gods? They had abandoned her though. "Call the beast! It will come to you. Use your spear." Thalia stood there, thinking about every word that had just come out of the manticore's mouth.

"Thalia!" Percy said loudly. "Snap out of it!" Thalia looked at Percy. She looked dazed and uncertain. She was still going over everything in her mind. She wanted the power but she didn't want to use it in a way that would get rid of the gods.

"I... I don't-" Thalia muttered.

"Your father helped you." Percy pointed out. "He sent the angels. He turned you into a tree to preserve you." Thalia tightened her grip on her spear.

Percy looked over at Grover. Grover understood the look that Percy gave him. He took out his reed pipes and began to play.

"Stop him!" The manticore screamed. The guards were targeting Zoë. They figured that a girl with a weapon was far more danger than a satyr with reed pipes. Grover continued to play his reeds as wooden planks formed around their legs. The planks grew branches that tangled the guards' legs. Zoë took two fart arrows and shot them at the guards. The arrows exploded, creating clouds of sulfuric smoke. The guards began to cough. The manticore shot spines in the direction of the kids. The spines ricocheted off of Percy's lion coat.

"Grover." He said. "Tell Bessie to dive deep and stay down!"

"Moooooo!" Grover translated.

"The cow..." Thalia stammered. She was still dazed.

"Come on!" Percy said. He pulled Thalia with him as he ran up the stairs to the shopping center on the pier. The group ran a corner of the nearest store. They could just hear the manticore shouting "Get them!" Tourists were screaming. The guards were shooting at random. They came to kiosk filled with various items made of silver crystals. The group hid behind it. They gazed at the beautiful view in front of them. There was a good amount of time to take in the beauty. They were going to die.

"Go over the side!" Zoë told Percy. "You can escape in the sea, Percy. Call on thy father for help. Maybe you can save the Ophiotaurus." Zoë was right. Percy could escape but he wasn't going to abandon his friends.

"I won't leave you guys." He said. "We need to fight together."

"You have to get word to the camp." Grover said. "Let them know what's going on!" Percy paused for a moment. He noticed the crystals making rainbows in the sunlight. A drinking fountain was located next to Percy.

"Get word to camp." Percy muttered. "Good idea." He uncapped Riptide and slashed off the top of the fountain. Water sprayed all over everyone.

Thalia gasped as the water hit her. "Are you crazy?" she asked. She didn't get what Percy was thinking but Grover did. Grover began to feel around his pants pocket, in search of a coin. After a moment of looking, he found one. Grover threw the gold drachma into the rainbows that the mist created. "O goddess accept my offering." He yelled. The mist rippled.

"Camp Half-Blood!" Percy said.

Dionysus appeared in the mist. He was wearing his leopard skin jogging suit and rummaging through the refrigerator. Percy didn't want to see Mr. D. He knew that all hope was lost. Why hadn't Chiron answered the message?

"Do you mind?" Dionysus asked.

"Where's Chiron?" Percy shouted.

"How rude." Dionysus said as he took a swig from a jug of white grape juice. "Is that how you say hello?"

"Hello." Percy amended. "We're about to die. Where's Chiron?" Dionysus took a dramatic pause as he thought about the predicament. Percy was ready to yell at Mr. D, but he knew that Dionysus had a short fuse. Percy could hear the manticore's troops behind him. They were closing in.

"About to die," Dionysus mused. "How exciting. I'm afraid Chiron isn't here. Would you like me to take a message?"

Percy gave an exasperated look to his friends. "We're dead." He stated.

Thalia gripped her spear, finally looking like her old angry self again. "Then we'll die fighting."

"How noble." Dionysus said as he stifled a yawn. "So what is the problem exactly?"

Percy told Mr. D about the Ophiotaurus.

"Mmm." Dionysus said as he looked through the fridge. "So that's it I see."

"You don't even care!" Percy screamed. "If you stay hear any longer, you'll watch us die!"

Dionysus was still rummaging through the fridge. He wasn't going to give the kids any respect until they showed him some respect. "Let's see. I think I'm in the mood for pizza tonight." Dionysus said smugly. _How long is it going to take for them to realize that I can help?_ He thought to himself. The campers never understood that Dionysus had just as many powers as the other gods.

Percy considered slashing through the mist but he knew there wasn't enough time. Percy groaned in frustration.

"There!" The manticore screamed. His minions surrounded the kids. He through off his coat to reveal his true self- his lion claws extended and his spiky tail was glistening with poison barbs.

"Excellent." He said as he glanced at the mist. "Alone without_ real_ help. Wonderful."

"You could ask for help." Dionysus murmured to Percy. He was rather amused because the group didn't grasp that he could help them. "You could say please."

_When pigs fly._ Percy thought. There was no was in Hades that he would beg Mr. D, the slob, for his help.

The kids began to prepare for the worst. Zoë steadied her arrows, Grover lifted his reed pipes, and Thalia lifted her shield up. Percy noticed that she was crying. This had already happened to her before. Thalia had willingly given up her life to save her friends. She couldn't do that this time. Percy didn't want Thalia to go through that again.

"Please Mr. D." He said. "Help."

Of course, nothing happened. Percy balled his fists in frustration.

The manticore cackled. "Spare the daughter of Zeus. She will join us soon enough. Kill the others."

When the men raised their guns, something odd happened. Dionysus had sent a purple cloud of madness at the men. It gave the sunlight a purple tinge. The smell of grapes and wine came with it. Dionysus snapped his fingers. A louder snap echoed through the pier. He had just caused a group of men to lose their minds.

One of the guards began to act like a dog. He placed his pistol in his mouth like it was a bone. Then he got down on all fours and ran around. Two other guards dropped their guns and began to waltz together. One other guard began to Irish clog dance. The kids would have been amused by the guard's actions if they hadn't been so freaky.

"No!" The manticore screamed. "I'll deal with you myself." His tail bristled, but the planks under his paws erupted into grape vines. The vines wrapped around his body. They sprouted clusters of grapes. They continued to wrap around the manticore. He shrieked until he was no more. All that was left was a large amount of vines, leaves, and grapes.

"Well," Dionysus said as he closed his refrigerator. "That was fun."

Percy and his friends stared at Mr. D.

"How did you..." Percy stammered.

"Such gratitude." Dionysus muttered. "Of course, the mortals will come out of it. Too much paperwork would be involved if I made their condition permanent. I hate having to write reports to father." Dionysus gave a resentful look to Thalia.

"I hope you learned your lesson girl." He said. "It isn't easy to resist power, is it?" Thalia blushed.

"Mr. D... you saved us." Grover said gratefully.

"Mhmm. Don't make me regret it, satyr. Now get going Percy Jackson. I've bought you a few hours at the most."

"The Ophiotaurus," Percy asked. "Can you bring it to camp?"

Dionysus made a face. "I don't transport livestock. That's your problem.

"But where do we go?"

Dionysus looked at Zoë. "I believe the huntress knows. You have to enter by sunset today or all is lost. Now good-bye. My pizza is waiting." He said.

"Mr. D," Percy said. He had just realized something. Dionysus lifted his eyebrow. "You called me by my right name." He continued. "You called me Percy Jackson."

"I did not." Dionysus said. "Peter Johnson, get going." He waved his arm through the mist, ending the connection.

* * *

"That was so sweet!" Aphrodite gushed. "The god who acts as if he hates all the campers actually helped!"

"He already helped to begin with." Apollo said.

"Yeah, but that's not my point."

"You can't check him off twice." Athena added.

"I know." Aphrodite said. "But he did something nice for once."

"Are you suggesting that we should send him flowers or something?" Hermes asked.

"That's a good idea!" She said loudly.

Ares sniggered. "I don't think Dionysus would like that." He said.

"How would you know? You barely see him any more."

_Dionysus was rather surprised and confused when he found a bouquet of flowers in his room later that day._


	9. Artemis Part I

**Disclaimer: Nine chapters later, is this really necessary?**

"Dad." Percy said. "Help us. Get the Ophiotaurus and Grover safely to camp. Protect them at sea."

"A prayer like that needs a big sacrifice." Thalia said. Percy took off his coat.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Grover asked. "The lion skin has been really helpful."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Percy said. "If I survive, it's not going to be because of the skin. I'm not Hercules." With that, Percy threw the cloak into the sea. He watched as it turned back into the pelt and began to sink. Then it dissolved into sunlight. His prayer had been accepted.

* * *

"Seaweed brain helped." Athena whispered.

"Which one?" Aphrodite asked, noting the fact that both mother and daughter called two different people seaweed brain.

"Poseidon." Apollo said. "I'm pretty sure that Athena would call Percy seaweed brain's kid... not seaweed brain."

"Her daughter calls him seaweed brain." Hermes piped in.

"Right..." Aphrodite said. She checked off Poseidon's name.

They were speaking in hushed tones because the gods were beginning to arrive for the solstice. So far, Demeter, Hephaestus, and Dionysus had showed up. Zeus and Hera would be back on Olympus in less then an hour and Poseidon was taking his time.

* * *

"This is Atlas's mountain." Zoë said. "Where he holds-" She gasped. "Where he used to hold up the sky." The trio had reached the mountain summit. They saw a twelve-year-old girl holding up a gray funnel cloud. It was Artemis. She was literally holding the world on her shoulders.

"My lady!" Zoë said as she rushed forward to assist Artemis.

"Stop! It is a trap. You must to leave now." Artemis said in a quick, strained tone. Zoë didn't care. She ran forward to help the goddess. Tears streaked down her face.

"How touching." A voice boomed from behind them. The trio turned on around to find the General, Luke, a dozen Dracaenae and Annabeth.

Percy was the first to notice that Annabeth was hand cuffed and gagged. His eyes met hers; he had so many questions to ask. Annabeth's eyes relayed one message. _RUN!_

Thalia was the first to speak. "Luke." She snarled, looking between Annabeth and Luke. "Let her go."

Luke smiled. He looked weak and pale. "That is the General's decision. However, it's nice to see you again Thalia." He said. She spat at him.

The general laughed. "So much for old friends. And you, Zoë, I haven't seen you for a long time. How is my little traitor? I'll enjoy killing you." Zoë's eyes widened a little but she didn't respond.

"Do not respond." Artemis groaned. "Don't challenge him."

"Wait a second." Percy said. "You're Atlas?" He received a glare from the general.

"So, even the stupidest of heroes can finally figure something out. Yes. I am Atlas, the Titan general, and the terror of the gods. Congratulations. You've learned something. As a reward, I will kill you presently, as soon as I deal with this wretched girl."

"You're not going to kill Zoë." Percy said. "I won't let you."

"This is a family matter." The general sneered. "You have no right to interfere."

Percy frowned. "A family matter?" He asked. A hint of confusion was present in his voice.

"Yes." Zoë said bleakly. "Atlas is my father."

Thalia and Percy stared at her in shock. Suddenly, similar resemblances stood out between Atlas and Zoë.

"Let Artemis go." Zoë demanded. She had brought the attention back to the goddess.

Atlas walked closer to Artemis. "I guess you'd like to take the sky for her. Be my guest." He said.

Zoë opened her mouth to speak. Before any words left her mouth, Artemis interrupted her.

"No! Don't offer, Zoë, I forbid you!" She said. Atlas smiled. He knelt down beside Artemis and went to graze his hand across her cheek. Artemis went to bit him. If Atlas hadn't moved his hand back, he would've lost a finger or two.

Atlas laughed for a moment. "You see daughter? I believe Lady Artemis likes her new job. I think I'll have all the Olympians carry my burden, once Lord Kronos rules again. This will be the center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humanity."

Percy caught eye contact with Annabeth. Her gray eyes were wide. She was desperately attempting to tell him something. She slightly moved her head towards Luke. Annabeth's message was unclear. Percy had no choice but to stare at her. As he stared, Percy noticed something different about Annabeth. Her blond hair had gray streaks in it.

"It's from holding up the sky." Thalia said. She'd noticed that Percy was staring at Annabeth. "The weight should have killed her." Of course, she had to add some dark-side to her observation.

"I don't get it." Percy said. "Why can't Artemis let go of the sky?"

Atlas laughed. "This is the point where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought first their powerful children- the Titans. The sky still wants to embrace the earth. So, someone must hold it or it would crush this place, flatten the mountain, and flatten everything within a hundred leagues of this place. Once you've taken the burden, there is no escape." He smiled at this. "Unless someone else takes it for you." Atlas walked over towards Thalia and Percy. "So these are the best heroes of the age? Not that much of a challenge."

"Fight us." Percy said through gritted teeth. "Then you'll see."

"Have the gods taught you nothing?" Atlas scoffed. "An immortal does not fight a mortal directly. It's beneath our dignity. I will have Luke crush you instead."

"So you're another coward." Percy stated.

Atlas eyes glowed with hatred. After glaring at Percy for a few seconds, he turned his attention to Thalia.

"As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems as though Luke was wrong about you."

"I wasn't wrong." Luke managed to say. He spoke each word slowly with pain echoing throughout each word. "Thalia, you can still join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It _will_ come to you. Look!" He pointed to a pool of water that was beside Thalia and Percy.

Percy looked at the water. He was thinking about how he could see Bessie inside it. In fact, he could of sworn that he could hear her mooing. _Don't think about him!_ Grover's voice sounded in Percy's mind. The empathy link still worked. Grover was almost panicking. _I'm losing Bessie. Block the thoughts!_ Percy attempted to clear his mind.

"Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus." Luke continued. "You'll be greater than all the gods."

"Luke?" Thalia's asked. "What happened to you?" Her voice was full of emotion.

"Don't you remember?" He asked. "All those time we cursed the gods? Our fathers haven't done anything for us. They shouldn't be the ones ruling the world."

Thalia shook her head. "Free Annabeth, let her go."

"If you join me..." Luke promised. "It can be like old times. The three of us together, fighting for a better world. Please, Thalia, if you don't..." He faltered. "It's my last chance. If you don't agree, he'll use the other way. _Please_." Fear echoed throughout his voice. Thalia stared at him. She could tell that her decision would change Luke's life. But she didn't know what to do. She didn't answer.

"Do not, Thalia." Zoë warned. "We must fight them."

Luke waved his hand and a sacrificial flame appeared. Thalia stared at it. She still wasn't speaking.

"We will raise Mount Othrys right here." Luke said. His voice was strained. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We're not weak." He pointed toward the ocean. Thalia and Percy looked towards where he was pointing. They were both shocked to find a huge army approaching the mountain. There were dozens of Dracaenae, Laestrygonians, other monsters, and half bloods. They were greatly outnumbered. "This is only a taste of what will come. There are more of us." Luke continued. "Soon there will be enough of us to storm Camp Half-Blood. And soon after, Olympus itself. All we need is _your_ help."

Thalia hesitated. She was beginning to hate being put on the spot. She could have the world at her fingertips. People would listen to her. Thalia didn't like all the choices that she was given. She'd been back for less than a year and everyone wanted her for one thing or another. Like she'd believe that. But she wanted to believe him. Thalia gazed at Luke. She leveled her spear and finally managed to say "You aren't Luke. I don't know you anymore."

"Yes you do." Luke was pleading now. "Please. Don't let me... Don't make _him_ destroy you."

Time was running out. If the army got to the top of the mountain, the group would be dead. Percy looked to Annabeth again. Her eyes lit up as she nodded. Percy understood. It was time to fight.

"Now." Percy said. Thalia, Zoë, and Percy charged forward. Thalia went straight for Luke. Her shield was raised. It was so powerful. The monsters that guarded Luke fled. Luke stood alone. She went to stab him but Luke was quick to parry. Luke snarled as he counterattacked. Thalia deflected the blow with her shield. As Luke's sword hit the shield, a ball of lighting erupted between him and Thalia, causing Luke to take a baby step back.

Percy, the stupidest of the group, ran straight at Atlas. The Titan laughed as Percy approached. With a snap of his fingers, Atlas' suit changed into full Greek battle armor, completed with a huge javelin.

"Go on then." Atlas said.

"Percy!" Zoë said. "Beware!" Percy understood the simple warning. He had remembered that Chiron had mentioned that _Immortals are constrained by ancient rules. But a hero can go anywhere; challenge anyone, as long as he has the nerve._ Once Percy decided to attack, Atlas would be free to attack with all his might.

Percy swung his sword. Atlas knocked Percy aside and sent him flying through the air. He did this with a single swing of his javelin. Percy slammed against a black wall. The mist had disappeared. The palace was rising, brick by brick. It was becoming real.

Zoë began to shoot arrows at Atlas. She hoped that they would distract her father for a moment or two. They'd give Percy some time to get back on his feet.

"You fool!" Atlas screamed as swatted aside one of Zoë's arrows. "Did you think, simply because you could challenge that petty war god, that you could stand up to _me?_"

Percy twitched. The mention of Ares had reminded him of another thing that was mentioned to him a while ago. This time it wasn't something Chiron had said. It was something that Ares had threatened. _When you need it most, your sword will fail you._ The words echoed through Percy's head. Suddenly, his sword felt heavier than ever. _Not now!_ Percy pleaded but it was no use. He attempted to dodge the next blow from Atlas. Percy couldn't. He was hit in the chest by the javelin. Once again, Percy went flying through the air. This time he landed by Artemis. She was still holding up the sky.

"Run, boy." Artemis said. "You must run!"

Atlas was slowly approaching Percy. Percy was unarmed. His sword had flown out of his hand and away from him. It landed over the edge of the cliff. Percy hoped that his sword would reappear in his pocket. He didn't care though. The god was getting closer and by the time the sword was back, he'd be dead.

Thalia and Luke were still fighting. Clashes and bangs echoed throughout the mountaintop. Lightning was crackling around them and sparks were flying everywhere. Annabeth was on the ground, struggling to free her hands from the cloth that bound them.

Atlas was close enough to kill Percy. "Die little hero." He said as he raised his javelin to impale Percy.

"No!" Zoë screamed. She sent as many arrows as she could towards a chink in Atlas's armor.

"ARGH!" Atlas bellowed. He turned towards his daughter.

Riptide finally returned to Percy's pocket. He knew that he couldn't attack. Percy remembered another line from the prophecy. _The Titan's curse must one withstand._ Percy didn't stand a chance against Atlas. But he knew of someone else who might have a chance. Percy turned around to face Artemis.

"The sky." He said. "Give it to me."

"No, boy." Artemis said. "You don't know what you're asking for. It will crush you."

"But Annabeth took it."

"She barely survived. She had the spirit of a true huntress. You will not last so long."

"I'll die anyways." Percy said. "Give me the weight of the sky!" Percy was to impatient to wait for Artemis to answer. He took out Riptide and slashed through the chains that bound the goddess. Then he stepped beside her and braced himself on one knee. Her raised his hands and touched the heavy clouds. For a moment, he and Artemis bore the wait together. Percy noted how heavy it was. He wanted to black out from the pain. He took a deep breath and thought _I can do this_. Artemis slipped out from under the sky and Percy held the burden alone. Percy began to sink to the ground. _Fight back!_ Grover's voice said inside Percy's head. _Don't give up._ Percy went back to concentrating on breathing. He needed to last a few more seconds. Percy thought about Bianca. She gave up her life to help Percy, Zoë, and Thalia get to where they were. If she could do that, he could hold up the sky.

Artemis fought Atlas. She was extremely graceful. Her weapons were two hunting knives. They were very effective. As she fought, Zoë shot arrows at the kinks in her father's armor. Atlas would cry out in pain every time one found a piece of skin, but they didn't hurt him for long. Instead, the arrows caused Atlas to get madder. He kept fighting.

Thalia and Luke continued fighting. Lightning still illuminated the area around them. Thalia continued to push Luke back with the aura of her shield. Even he wasn't immune to it. He retreated backwards every time the shield was in his face.

"Yield!" Thalia yelled. "You never could beat me, Luke."

"We'll see my old friend." He said through bared teeth.

Percy was beginning to lose it. He could barely keep track of what was going on. His vision had blurred and sweat was pouring down his face. He saw Atlas advance. He was trying to stop Artemis. Artemis was fast and Atlas was strong. It was a pretty even match. Atlas would strike and miss the spot where Artemis had just been. A fissure opened in the rocks. Atlas leapt over them and kept pursuing her. Artemis's goal was to lead Atlas to where Percy was. She was almost there.

_Get ready._ Artemis spoke to Percy by using her mind.

_Aggghhhhh-owwwwwwwwwww._ Was Percy's only response.

"You fight well for a girl." Atlas laughed. "But you are no match for me." He feinted with the tip of his javelin and Artemis dodged. Percy saw the trick coming. Atlas's javelin swept around and knocked Artemis's legs off the ground. She fell and he brought up his javelin tip for the kill.

"No!" Zoë screamed. She leaped between her father and Artemis and shot an arrow straight into his forehead. The arrow lodged into Atlas's forehead, it looked like a unicorn's horn. Atlas bellowed in rage. He swept aside Zoë with the back of his hand, sending her flying into the black rocks. No one could see where she landed. Atlas looked back at Artemis. He knew that he'd be triumphant. Artemis appeared to be wounded. She didn't get up.

"The first blood in a new war." Atlas gloated as he stabbed downward. Artemis quickly grabbed his javelin stick. It hit the earth right next to her and she pulled backward, using the javelin like a lever. Then she kicked Atlas and sent him flying over her. The Titan Lord went soaring towards Percy.

Percy understood what was going to happen. He loosened his grip on the sky and allowed Atlas to crash into him. Percy didn't bother with holding on. He allowed himself to get pushed out of the way. Once he hit the ground, he rolled out of the way.

The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas's back. It almost smashed him flat but Atlas had managed to get on his knees. He struggled for a while as he attempted to get out from under the sky. His actions were useless because it was too late.

"_Nooo!"_ He bellowed. _"Not again!"_ Atlas was trapped beneath his old burden.

Percy attempted to stand up but he was dazed from the pain.

Thalia had backed Luke to the edge of a cliff. They were fighting beside the gold coffin. Thalia had tears in her eyes and Luke had a bloody slash across his chest. He slashed at Thalia and she slammed him with her shield. Luke's sword flew out of his hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point to his throat.

There was a moment of silence as Thalia decided what to do.

"Well?" Luke asked. He failed at attempting to hide the fear in his voice.

Thalia was trembling with fury.

Annabeth had finally freed herself from her bonds. She scrambled towards Thalia. "Don't kill him!" She said.

"He's a traitor." Thalia said. "He's a traitor."

Percy was the only one to notice that Artemis had disappeared. He had seen her run off towards where Zoë had fallen.

"We'll bring Luke back." Annabeth pleaded. "To Olympus. He... he'll be useful."

"Is that what you want, Thalia?" Luke sneered. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To please your dad?"

Thalia hesitated and Luke made a desperate grab for her spear. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Luke.

"No!" Annabeth shouted. It was to late though. Thalia's foot had made a connection. He lost his balance. A look of terror was on his face. Then he fell.

"Luke!" Annabeth screamed. She, Thalia, and Percy rushed to the cliff's edge. The army below them had stopped in amazement. They were staring at Luke's broken form on the rocks.

One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"


	10. Grover on Olympus

Grover had gotten to Camp Half-Blood safely. He had just stepped off of Bessie and onto the beach. Surprisingly, he was extremely dry. _Thanks Poseidon._ He thought. Grover hadn't even been on dry land for two minutes. The next thing he knew, a giant light came and engulfed both him and Bessie. A tingling sensation was surging through Grover's body, he closed his eyes. A moment later, the sensation stopped. Grover opened his eyes and was surprised to find himself standing in front of the entire Olympian council (minus Artemis of course). He gulped as he kneeled down. Thoughts raced through his mind. Most of them included _Oh my gods, why am I here?_ And the usual thoughts of _I'm starving_. The gods were all staring at him. They knew that the satyr had been a part of the group that was sent to save Artemis. After all, almost half of them were spying on the kids to begin with. They also knew that Bessie was currently a more important weapon than Thalia or Percy. Bessie was currently trapped in a large bubble of water. Poseidon had conjured it up and put Bessie in it because he knew that sea animals couldn't survive for a long time on land.

Zeus cleared his throat before he spoke. "Grover Underwood, do you know why you are here?" Grover stood up and walked over to Zeus.

"Not exactly." Grover said nervously. He kneeled down in front of Zeus' throne and began to recite the story of what happened.

Apollo, who already knew what had happened, took out his iPod and put the headphones on. He was listening to the Beatles, his favorite band from the 60's. His actions earned him a curious glance from Hera.

Athena was pretending to listen. She was watching how Thalia, Percy, and Annabeth were doing. She planned to intervene if things went badly. She knew that Zeus wouldn't let her though. They had Artemis on their side. Athena had no problems with Artemis. She hadn't done anything to annoy her. Aphrodite was half listening. She was to busy adding the second coat to her freshly painted nails.

Hermes was playing with his phone, and Ares had the most bored look on his face ever. He had better things to do-things that didn't involve listening to a goat-boy describe things that he already knew about. The other gods were listening to Grover. They hadn't heard the story and they didn't know about what had happened with the quest.

Grover continued to describe what had happened. Somehow, he managed to explain the way that the gods had helped without mentioning their names. Zeus didn't really think about the way that his children had helped. He expected that at least one of them would help out. He also didn't realize that Aphrodite was keeping track over how many of the gods were helping out.

"And they should hopefully be here shortly." Grover finished.


	11. Artemis Part II

One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"

A ton of javelins and other weapons shot up into the air. Luckily, the throwers weren't very accurate. Each weapon soared over their heads. Percy was smart enough to drag the grief stricken Thalia away from the cliff. He, Thalia, and Annabeth ran. They ran towards the rocks and passed the insult throwing Titan. They stopped when they saw Artemis.

"Artemis!" Percy screamed. She looked up and acknowledged the trio. Her face was almost a mirror image of Thalia's. Artemis was holding Zoë. She was breathing and her eyes were open but she didn't look well. Zoë's face was very pale. Her breathing was slow.

"The wound is poisoned." Artemis stated, a frown formed on her face.

"You mean Atlas poisoned her?" Percy asked.

"No, not Atlas." Artemis moved Zoë a little bit to show where Ladon had scratched her. The kids could barely look at it.

Zoë took a deep breath before she murmured "The stars... I can't see them."

"Nectar and ambrosia." Percy suggested. "Come on! We have to get her some." Nobody moved. Annabeth shook her head. There was no nectar or ambrosia. They wouldn't be able to revive the Zoë. Kronos' army had just reached the top of the mountain. They failed to acknowledge them and the strange buzzing noise coming from the horizon.

The army of monsters got to the middle of the summit. They could easily attack Percy and his friends. The buzzing noise got louder, Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia looked around for source of the ruckus. One of the giants lifted his javelin, ready to throw. Nothing happened. The kids looked in surprise when a Sopwith Camel swooped down.

"Get away from my daughter!" Dr. Chase yelled in a barely audible tone. His machine guns burst to life. Bullet holes formed everywhere on the ground. The monsters scattered.

"Cowards." Thalia mumbled.

Annabeth was shocked. Her father was actually helping her? "D-dad?" She yelled, not believing that it was him.

"Run!" Dr. Chase yelled. Gun shots echoed throughout the mountain.

Artemis finally came out of her stupor. She looked up at the plane and nodded.

"A brave man." She said. "Come. We must get Zoë away from here." Artemis pulled her hunting horn out of her pocket. She raised it to her lips and blew. The sound rang around the mountain and down the valley. Zoë's eyes were fluttering; her face was paler than before.

"Hang in there." Percy told Zoë. "You'll be alright."

Dr. Chase swooped down the plane again. Giants were throwing javelins at him. A few of them almost hit the plane. Dr. Chase paid no attention to the monsters. After realizing that normal bullets didn't harm the monsters, he decided to switch his ammunition. He had taken some of Annabeth's old weapons, for experimental purposes, and molded them into bullets. Dr. Chase figured they would come in handy at one point or another. He was right.

Dr. Chase shot the new ammunition out of the machine guns. The monsters screamed as a few of them disintegrated on the spot. The kids stared at Dr. Chase in amazement.

"That's... that's my dad!" Annabeth said. There wasn't enough time for everyone to watch the airplane. The monsters were recovering from the initial shock of the celestial bronze bullets. They would cause a lot of trouble for Dr. Chase.

The moon light brightened, and a silver chariot appeared out of nowhere, it was drawn by the most beautiful, silver deer. It landed with a soft thud beside Artemis, Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth.

"Get in." Artemis said.

Percy attempted to get Thalia onto the chariot but he wasn't getting anywhere. Annabeth walked over and helped get her on board. After helping Thalia on, Percy approached Artemis and helped with Zoë. After they set her down, Annabeth wrapped a blanket around Zoë. Artemis pulled the reigns of the chariot and it lifted into the air

"Like Santa Claus's sleigh." Percy murmured.

Artemis looked back at Percy. "Indeed, young half-blood." She said. "Where do you think that legend came from?"

Dr. Chase realized that Annabeth and her friends were safe. At once, he turned his biplane around and followed the chariot.

Some thirty feet behind the group, the angered voices of Kronos' army could be heard. The loudest voice of all belonged to Atlas.

A little after nightfall, the chariot and biplane landed in Crissy Field.

When Dr. Chase stepped out of his Sopwith Camel, Annabeth ran to him and gave him a huge hug.

"Dad! You flew... you shot... Oh my gods! That's the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" She said.

Mr. Chase blushed. "Well, I wasn't bad for a middle-aged mortal, I suppose."

"And the celestial bronze bullets? How did you get them?"

"Well, you did leave quite a few half-blood weapons in your room in Virginia, the last time you..." He paused to find the proper word to use. "Left."

Annabeth looked down. She never realized that her father cared that much for her. She was very embarrassed.

"I decided to try melting down some of the weapons to make bullet casings." Mr. Chase continued. "Just a little experiment." A gleam of pride had formed in his eyes.

"Dad..." Annabeth faltered. She couldn't come up with a way to state her feelings.

"Annabeth, Percy..." Thalia interrupted, her voice was urgent. She and Artemis were kneeling at Zoë's side, binding the huntress's wounds.

Annabeth and Percy ran over to help but there wasn't to much for them to do. There wasn't any nectar and there wasn't any ambrosia. Normal medicine wouldn't help and it was dark out- but not dark enough to see the way that Zoë looked. Zoë was shivering; the glow that usually surrounded her was fading.

"Can't you heal her with magic?" Percy asked Artemis. His voice was very quiet, almost a whisper. "I mean... you are a goddess."

Artemis frowned. "Life is a fragile thing, Percy. If the Fates will the string to be cut, there is very little I can do... But I can try." Artemis went to sent her hand on Zoë's side, but Zoë gripped her wrist, her face grimaced in pain. She looked into Artemis's eyes and an understanding passed between them.

_I'm ready._ Zoë thought. _If the fates see that my time is done, let it be. I've done so much. Have.. Have I... _"Have I... served thee well?" Zoë whispered, completing her thoughts out loud.

"With great honor." Artemis said softly. "The finest of all my attendants." Zoë's face looked more relaxed.

"Rest, at last." Zoë said.

"I can try to heal the poison, my brave one."

Zoë shook her head. Annabeth was fighting back tears. Thalia was frowning and Percy had just realized that Zoë was completing the prophecy.

Zoë looked at Thalia and took her hand.

"I'm sorry we argued." She whispered. "We could have been sisters."

Thalia could feel the tears in her eyes. She blinked to get rid of them.

"It's my fault. You were right about Luke, about heroes, men... everything."

"Perhaps not all men," Zoë murmured. She smiled weakly at Percy. "Do you still have the sword, Percy?"

Percy looked towards Zoë and slowly took Rip Tide out of his pocket and placed the pen in Zoë's hand. Zoë grasped it and began to speak again.

"You spoke the truth, Percy Jackson. You are nothing like... like Hercules. I am honored that you carry this sword." Zoë shuddered.

"Stars. I can see the stars, my lady." She said.

A single tear fell down Artemis's cheek. She didn't bother with wiping it away.

"Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight." Artemis whispered.

"Stars." Zoë repeated. Her eyes were glued to the night sky. She didn't move again.

Thalia lowered her head and Annabeth gulped down a sob. Her eyes were watery and tears were beginning to fall from them. Dr. Chase wrapped his arms around his daughter, in an embrace.

The group watched as Artemis began to mutter words in Ancient Greek. Her hand was cupped above Zoë's mouth. A silvery wisp of smoke exhaled out of Zoë's mouth. Artemis caught the smoke in her hand. Zoë's body shimmered and disappeared.

Artemis stood up and said a blessing. She breathed into her cupped hand and released the silver dust. She watched as it floated up in the sky until it shimmered and vanished.

Percy looked at the sky in confusion. Nothing happened. Then Annabeth gasped and pointed up. The stars were brighter and they created a new pattern.

A new, gleaming constellation of a girl's figure with a bow was running across the night sky.

"Let the world honor you, my Huntress," Artemis said. "Live forever in the stars." Everyone mumbled a soft prayer. It could barely be heard because of the lightning and anger radiating from Mount Tamalpais. Artemis was a mess. Percy could tell that she was very upset. Her body was flickering with silver light. If she was to lose control, she'd appear in her divine form and Percy and his friends would get fried.

"I must go to Olympus immediately." Artemis said. "I can not take you but I will send help." She set her arm down on Annabeth's shoulder. "You are brave beyond measure, my girl. You will do what is right." Then Artemis looked at Thalia. Her expression was quizzical. Almost as if she didn't know what to make of Zeus's youngest daughter. Thalia slowly looked up. She caught Artemis's gaze and held it for a moment. The goddess's expression softened with sympathy. After a moment, she finally turned towards Percy.

"You did well," Artemis said. "For a man." Percy's lips moved, ready to protest but he stopped after realizing that Artemis had called him a man.

Artemis mounted her chariot it began to glow and everyone turned away. A flash of silver and the goddess was gone.

"Well," Dr. Chase sighed. "She was impressive; though I must say I still prefer Athena."

Annabeth turned around to face her father. "Dad... I... I'm sorry that I-"

"Shhh." He interrupted and hugged her. "Do what you must, my dear. I know this isn't easy for you." Dr. Chase's voice was shaky. He gave his daughter a brave smile.

The father-daughter moment was interrupted by the whoosh of large wings. Three pegasi descended from the fog. Two white horses and one pure black one.

"Blackjack!" Percy called out in recognition.

_Yo boss!_ Blackjack answered. _You managed to stay alive without me?_

_It was rough._ Percy thought.

_I brought Guido and Porkpie with me._

_How ya doin_? The two other Pegasi spoke in Percy's mind.

Blackjack gave Percy a concerned look, and then he checked out Dr. Chase, Thalia, and Annabeth.

_Do you want us to stampede any of these goons?_

"No." Percy said out loud. "These are my friends. We need to get to Olympus fast."

_No problem._ Blackjack said. _Except for the mortal over there. Hope he's not going._

_The mortal, Dr. Chase, isn't going._ Percy thought. He looked over at Dr. Chase.

Dr. Chase was staring at all the Pegasi. He was in awe.

"Fascinating," he said. "Such maneuverability! How does the wingspan compensate for the weight of the horse's body, I wonder?"

Blackjack cocked his head in confusion. _What?_ He thought.

"Why, if the British had had these pegasi in the cavalry charges on the Crimea," He continued. "The charge of the light brigade-"

"Dad!" Annabeth interrupted.

Dr. Chase blinked and looked at Annabeth. He managed to smile. "I'm sorry, my dear, I know that you must go." He hugged Annabeth one more time before Annabeth turned to climb onto Guido.

"Annabeth, I know... I know San Francisco is a dangerous place for you," Dr. Chase called. "But please remember, you always have a home with us. We will keep you safe."

Annabeth didn't answer. Her already red eyes turned even redder. As she turned away, Dr. Chase began to say more. He opened his mouth and closed it again, thinking better of speaking. He raised his arm and waved in a sad farewell and trudged away across the dark field.

Thalia, Percy, and Annabeth mounted their pegasi. The horses leapt and soared across the sky. Thalia fell asleep on Porkpie's back. Annabeth and Percy managed to stay awake. Their pegasi were flying side by side.

"Your dad seems cool." Percy told Annabeth.

Annabeth frowned a little bit. She turned her head back towards California.

"I guess so." She answered. "We've been arguing for so many years."

"Yeah, you said."

"Do you think I was lying about that?" Annabeth said in a voice that sounded like she was going to challenge Percy. She spoke her words halfheartedly.

"I didn't say you were lying. It's just... he seems okay. Your step mom does too. Maybe they've, uh, gotten cooler since you saw them last."

Annabeth hesitated before answering. "They're still in San Francisco, Percy. I can't live so far from camp."

Percy thought about his next question for a moment. He debated asking it in the first place but he finally opened his mouth and asked. "So what are you going to do now?"

Annabeth was silent for a little bit. She looked at the view from Guido's back. They were passing over a town. The only visible lights came from the buildings. The view didn't last for long though.

"I don't know." Annabeth admitted. "Thanks for rescuing me."

"Hey, no big deal, we're friends after all." Percy said.

"You didn't think I was dead?" She asked.

"The thought never ran through my mind."

Annabeth hesitated. "Neither is Luke, you know. I mean... he isn't dead" She said.

Percy stared at her. _Is she crazy?_ He thought.

"Annabeth..." He said slowly. "That fall was pretty bad. There's no way he could'v-"

"He isn't dead." Annabeth insisted. "I know it. The same way you knew about me." Percy frowned. He didn't like being compared to feelings about Luke.

The pegasi continued to zip past towns and cities. The sun was beginning to rise and everything was getting lighter. New York was just ahead of them.

_How's that for speedy, boss?_ Blackjack asked. _Do we get extra hay for breakfast or what? _

_You're the man, Blackjack._ Percy thought. _Err, the horse, I mean._

"You don't believe me about Luke." Annabeth scoffed. "We'll see him again, Percy. He's in trouble; he's under Kronos' curse."

The angry monster in the back of Percy's mind began to take over. _How can she still have feelings for that creep? Why does she make excuses for him? He deserved to fall. He deserved to die. Bianca and Zoe didn't deserve to die. Luke can't be alive. It isn't fair._

"There it is." Thalia said with a yawn. She was pointing towards Manhattan. "It's started."

Percy shook his head, getting rid of the thoughts he'd just had.

"What's started?" He asked. Percy looked towards where Thalia was pointing. High above the Empire State Building, Olympus was lit up.

"The Winter Solstice," Thalia answered. "The council of the gods."

* * *

The pegasi landed in front of the silver gates to Olympus. Thalia, Percy, and Annabeth got off the horses. Percy stepped forward to knock on the gate but they opened before his fist reached them. The pegasi flew off. After taking a deep breath, the trio walked forward. They couldn't get rid of the feeling of déjà vu. Percy felt as if he, Annabeth, and Thalia had stood in front of a building, unsure of what would happen to the three of them. It seemed as if it had happened millions of years ago. They stood side by side and entered the throne room.


	12. The Gods Decide the Fate of Everything

**Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and all related characters belong to Rick Riordan.**

They stood side by side and entered the throne room. The twelve thrones were set up in a U shape. The cabins at Camp Half-Blood were modeled in the same way. A hearth stood in the center of the room and the ceiling glittered with constellations. The Ophiotaurus was floating in its orb beside the hearth. Each throne was occupied by a god. Zeus was in the middle of the twelve thrones. Hera's throne was to the right of him. Ares was beside Hera and Aphrodite sat beside him. Hephaestus sat beside his wife. Hermes sat on the other side of the forge god and Demeter was at the end. Poseidon sat to the left of Zeus. Athena sat next to him and Apollo and Artemis sat beside Athena. Dionysus was on the end. The gods were about fifteen feet tall. All twelve of the gods turned to face Percy, Annabeth and Thalia at the exact same time. Percy gulped, having twelve powerful beings stare at you was far worse than all of the monsters that he had just faced.

"Welcome, heroes." Artemis said.

"Moooo!"

Percy looked around. He didn't realize that Bessie and Grover were in the room. Bessie was playing in his orb and Grover was still kneeling in front of Zeus.

"You made it!" Grover said when he saw his friends. He stood up and began to run towards Percy. He hesitated for a moment and looked back towards Zeus, waiting to get permission to see his friends.

"Go on." Zeus said. He wasn't paying attention to Grover. Instead, he was staring at Thalia.

Grover ran to his friends. His hooves echoed across the floor because the gods were watching silently. As he went to them. Percy and his friends looked towards their parents. Athena smiled slightly when she caught Annabeth's eyes, Thalia and Zeus were staring at each other, and Percy looked nervously at his father. Poseidon nodded his head in a subtle way that stated i_ts okay_.

Grover hugged Annabeth and Thalia. Then he grabbed Percy's arms. "Percy, Bessie and I made it! But you need to convince them! They can't do it!"

"Do what?" Percy asked.

"Heroes," Artemis called. She slid off her chair and turned to human size. She walked towards Percy. "The Council has been informed of your deeds. They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas's attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act."

A few of the gods groaned. They had barely talked about whether or not they should act. By the looks of it, they'd have to intervene.

"At my lord Zeus's command, my brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most powerful monsters. We plan to strike them down before they even get a chance to join the Titans'. Lady Athena shall personally check on the other Titans to make sure that they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship _Princess Andromeda _and send it to the bottom of the sea. Ana as for you, my heroes..." Artemis turned to face the other Olympians. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service, would anyone here deny that?"

Artemis slowly looked around at each of the gods. Percy also looked at each of the gods. He recognized all of them but Hermes and Aphrodite were the only ones who acknowledged him. Aphrodite smiled and Hermes winked at Percy.

"I gotta say," Apollo began. He figured that someone should break the silence. "These kids did okay." He cleared his throat and began to recite: "_Heroes win laurels-_"

"Um... yes, first class." Hermes interrupted, causing Apollo to glare at him from across the room. "All in favor of not disintegrating them?" A few of the gods' hands went up. Demeter and Aphrodite were the first to put there hands up.

"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia and Percy. "These two are dangerous. It'd be much safer, while we've got them here-"

"Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "the two are worthy heroes. We will not blast my son into bits."

"Nor my daughter." Zeus grumbled. "She has done well." Thalia blushed and studied the floor.

Athena cleared her throat and leaned forward in her throne. "I am proud of my daughter as well. But there is a risk here with the other two."

"Mother!" Annabeth protested. "How can you-" Athena cut her daughter off with a calm but firm look.

"It is unfortunate that my father, Zeus, and my uncle, Poseidon, chose to break their oath of not having any more children. Only Hades kept his word, a fact that I find ironic As we know from the Great Prophecy, children of the three elder gods, such as Thalia and Percy, are dangerous. As thickheaded as he may be, Are has a point."

"Right!" Ares declared. "Hey wait a minute. Who are you callin' th-" He had started to get up but a grape vine grew around his waist, like a seat belt, and pulled him back down.

"Oh, please, Ares." Dionysus sighed. "Save the fighting for later."

Ares cursed and quickly ripped away the vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. Do you honestly want to protect these brats?"

Dionysus slowly looked over at Percy and his friends. "I have no love for them. Athena, do you truly think it is safest to destroy them?"

"I didn't pass judgment." Athena said. "I simply pointed out the risk. Whatever we do, the Council shall decide."

"I will not have them punished!" Artemis said. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it."

"Calm down sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up."

"Don't. Call. Me. _Sis. _And never tell a girl to lighten up." Artemis snapped.

"I will reward them." She said in a calmer voice.

"Well," Zeus grumbled. "Perhaps. But the monster at least must be destroyed. Do we have an agreement on that?" Most of the gods nodded their heads.

Percy shook his head when he realized what was going on. "Bessie? You want to destroy Bessie?" He asked.

"Moooooooooooo!" Bessie protested.

Poseidon frowned. "You've named the Ophiotaurus Bessie?" Hermes coughed to cover up what would've been a fit of laughter. Only Poseidon's kid would bother with giving potentially dangerous sea creatures humanlike characteristics.

"Dad," Percy said slowly, "he's just a sea creature. A really, really _nice_ sea creature. You can't destroy him."

Poseidon shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He knew that as the sea god, he shouldn't kill the sea creature... but the creature was powerful. He thought for a moment before he finally spoke. "Percy, the monster's power is considerable, If the titan's were to steal it, or-"

"_You can't_." Percy insisted. He looked towards Zeus. "Controlling the prophecies never works... Isn't that true? Besides, Bess- the Ophiotaurus is innocent. Killing something like that is wrong. It's just as wrong as..." Percy paused for a moment to think of something that would truly affect the gods. "As Kronos eating his children, just because of something they _might_ do. It's wrong!"

Zeus seemed to consider this. His eyes drifted towards Thalia. Dionysus had told him about the incident with Thalia and the manticore.

"And what about the risk? Kronos knows that if one of you was to sacrifice the beast's entrails, you would have the power to destroy us. Do you think we can let that possibility remain? You, my daughter, will turn sixteen on the morrow, just as the prophecy says."

"You have to trust them," Annabeth spoke up. "Sir, you have to trust them."

Zeus frowned. "Trust a hero?"

"Annabeth is right," Artemis said. "This is why I must first make a reward. My faithful companion, Zoë Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one. But first, Father Zeus, I must speak to you privately."

Zeus beckoned Artemis forward. He leaned down as she whispered to him.

Percy began to panic. _Not Annabeth..._ He thought. "Annabeth," he said under his breath. "Don't."

Annabeth frowned at him. "Don't what?" She asked.

"Look I need to tell you something." He continued. "I couldn't stand it if you were to..." Percy's voice faded. "I don't want you to-"

"Percy?" Annabeth asked. "You look like you're going to be sick."

Artemis turned around. "I shall have a new lieutenant," she announced. "That is if she will accept it."

"No." Percy said under his breath.

"Thalia," Artemis said. "Daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?"

Everyone was silent. Annabeth turned to Thalia and smiled. She squeezed Thalia's hand and let it go.

"I will." Thalia said.

Zeus rose; his eyes were shadowed with concern. "My daughter, consider well-"

"Father," She said. "I will not turn sixteen tomorrow. I will _never_ turn sixteen. I won't let this prophecy be mine. I stand with my sister Artemis. Kronos will _never_ tempt me again."

Thalia knelt before Artemis and began to say the pledge. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men..." Then she did something that completely surprised Percy. Thalia walked to Percy, smiled, and gave him a big hug. Percy blushed.

When she pulled away and gripped Percy's shoulders, he asked "Aren't you supposed to not do that anymore? Hug boys, I mean."

"I'm honoring a friend." Thalia said, as if everyone knew what she was doing. "I _must_ join the Hunt, Percy. I haven't known peace since... since Half-Blood Hill. I finally feel like I have a home. But you're a hero. You will be the one of the prophecy."

"Great." Percy muttered.

"I'm proud to be your friend." Then Thalia hugged Annabeth and Grover. Finally, she went to stand by Artemis's side.

"Now for the Ophiotaurus," Artemis said.

"This boy is still dangerous," Dionysus warned. "The beast is a temptation to great power. Even if we spare the boy-"

"No!" Percy said as he looked around at all the gods. "Please. Keep the Ophiotaurus safe. My dad can hide him under the sea somewhere, or keep him in an aquarium here in Olympus. But you have to protect him."

"And why should we trust you?" Hephaestus rumbled.

"I'm only fourteen." Percy said. "If this prophecy is about me, that's two more years."

"Two years for Kronos to deceive you," Athena said. "Much can change in two years, my young hero."

"Mother!" Annabeth said, exasperated.

"It is true my child. It is bad strategy to keep the animal alive. Or the boy."

Poseidon stood up. "I will not have a sea creature destroyed, if I can help it. And I _can_ help it." He held out his hand and his trident appeared. "I will vouch for the boy and the safety of the Ophiotaurus."

"You won't take it under the sea!" Zeus stood up as he spoke.

"Brother please." Poseidon sighed.

Zeus's lightning bolt appeared in his hand.

"Fine," Poseidon said. "I will build an aquarium her and Hephaestus can help. My son won't betray us. I vouch on my honor."

Zeus thought for a moment.

"Fine." He said through gritted teeth. "All in favor?"

Everyone's hands went up... Well almost everyone. Dionysus, Athena, and Ares didn't raise their hands.

"We have a majority." Zeus declared. "And since we won't be destroying these heroes... I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!"


	13. Let's Dance

**Disclaimer: See chapter 12 or the chapters before it.**

"We have a majority." Zeus declared. "And since we won't be destroying these heroes... I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!"

With that, the gods got up to get ready for the celebration. Everyone changed to human size; they didn't want to squish the half-bloods. After promising Percy that he'd be able to drive the sun chariot, Apollo took it to himself to escort Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth to the party building, even though you couldn't miss it. It was a decent sized, multicolored one-story building with strobe lights that flashed every time the gods or the nine muses were holding a party. They hadn't held many parties since the end of the 80's.

Athena, Hermes, Ares, and Aphrodite decided to stay in the throne room after checking that everyone else left. Aphrodite and Athena both looked rather smug, Ares was rather confused by their matching expressions, and Hermes was looking between the two goddesses. He was waiting for one of them to say something.

"Why do you look so smug?" Ares asked Aphrodite, finally breaking the silence.

"No reason..." She said. Ares raised his eyebrows. "Okay fine! I'm just happy that Athena is going to lose the bet."

"Excuse me?" Athena asked. "What do you mean I'm going to lose?"

"The quest is over and only nine gods helped out." Aphrodite answered.

Hermes laughed. "No it isn't." He said.

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't." Ares, Athena, and Hermes said.

"What do you mean?"

"The quest isn't over until the campers _return_ to camp." Athena said. "And Thalia no longer counts as a camper because she is one of Artemis's hunters."

Aphrodite's jaw dropped. She was silent for a few moments.

"Thalia isn't a part of the quest anymore but Annabeth is?" Ares asked.

"The quest was to save her and Artemis, right?"

"Yes it was..."

"B-b-but... they can't possibly get anymore help." Aphrodite finally spoke up.

"Actually they still can. You said that we needed to be nice and help somehow. At the moment, the kids are considered _heroes_. I'm sure that almost all of us," Athena glared at Ares. "Will congratulate or speak to them."

"Meaning that the gods will say nice things to Percy and his friends. The words will help boost their self esteem and make then feel good about themselves." Hermes said slowly.

Aphrodite didn't talk, she was thinking.

"So you're saying that I need to prevent Hermes, Hera, and Demeter from congratulating the heroes? That should be easy enough..."

"Good luck with that." Hermes said as he turned to leave the room.

"Oh no you don't!" Aphrodite screamed. "If you say a single word to any of them, I'll ruin your love life for the next three years."

"Oh, I'm so afraid!" Hermes said sarcastically. "If you ruin my love life, I'll steal your mirrors."

"You don't even know where I keep my mirrors."

"I have my ways." Hermes said mysteriously.

"Well then." Aphrodite said. The conversation between her and Hermes ended there. They'd probably bicker about it later but they had a party to go to.

"We should go." Athena pointed out. "I think father will be looking for us if we don't get to the party. He knows that you three wouldn't want to miss it." All four of the gods turned on their heels and left the throne room.

* * *

The first thing that Hermes did when he got onto the dance floor was finding Demeter. He avoided a few dancers, Dionysus, and Ariadne. Dionysus was popping tables of drinks out of the ground. His wife was with him and Dionysus was extremely happy. Until he finally found the goddess he was looking for.

Demeter was talking to a few of the minor gods. Somehow, she had managed to find a god who was somewhat interested in farming. Hermes swiftly walked over to her and asked if they could speak to each other for a little bit. Demeter agreed to talk.

The pair of gods made their way towards the hero who was closest to Aphrodite. Hermes didn't tell Demeter about the bet because he was afraid of his aunt telling his father and he sort of wanted to start a fight with Aphrodite. They approached Annabeth and began to talk to her. Hermes had already talked to Percy for a while but he figured that Demeter hadn't talked to any of the heroes.

"You were really brave." Demeter said. "I'm surprised that you survived for that long. You must have proved that you're your mother's daughter. Dionysus was going on about how you'd need to join Kronos' side to escape. If you ask me, I think he was hoping that you and your friends wouldn't come back. He seems really happy right now though."

"Thanks?" Annabeth said nervously. She didn't really care about what Mr. D at the moment. Annabeth had been looking for Percy. A bunch of gods had already spoken to her. Most of them said things like "way to hang in there." She felt rather unnerved by the wonderful monologue that Demeter was giving her.

"They did give you cereal right?" Demeter asked.

"No." Annabeth stated. She decided that telling the truth would be better than lying because lying would eventually fail and you don't ever want to lie to a god.

Demeter gave Annabeth a look of distaste. "Well you can always count on the Titans for disrespecting the wonders of wheat." She said and turned around, leaving a rather confused Annabeth. Hermes rolled his eyes as he watched Demeter's retreating figure. Aphrodite was glaring at him but Hermes didn't care.

"You did great kid. You really proved yourself out there. Your mom is rather proud of you." Hermes said. "I think I already know the answer to this but I'll ask anyways. You didn't happen to see my son, did you?"

"I did..." Annabeth said quietly. An image of Luke falling from the mountain formed in her mind. Annabeth shivered for a second and shook the image from her mind. "Thalia knocked him off the mountain. It was an accident. Percy thinks he's dead... But I know he isn't. I can feel it." The words came out in a rush.

Hermes examined Annabeth for a minute. She wasn't crying and she didn't seem to depressed about the predicament of his son. Hermes could tell that Annabeth wanted Luke to come back. Both he and Annabeth had tried to persuade Luke into supporting the gods. Hermes sensed that Annabeth still hoped for the best. He decided to tell her the truth.

"Luke is still alive." Hermes said slowly. Annabeth's eyes lit up a little bit and a smile formed on her face.

"He is?" She asked, just to make sure. Hermes nodded his head in response. "Oh good!" Annabeth's smile grew wider. She felt happier than she had been in quite a while. "I should go find Percy, to tell him the..." She struggled to find proper describing word. "News." Annabeth couldn't come up with a decent enough word, so she settled with just finishing her sentence. She looked at Hermes, awaiting permission to leave.

"You know you don't need to wait for my permission to leave." Hermes said. He left to go find Demeter.

Annabeth turned around to go find Percy. She was lost in thought. _Luke is still alive... That can be a good thing and a bad thing. I wonder if I'll be able to convince him into switching back to our side._ Annabeth wasn't paying attention to where she was going. She was busy thinking. She stopped short when she almost bumped into someone. Annabeth looked up and was surprised to see Hera.

"Oh... I'm sorry my lady." Annabeth said nervously. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

Hera looked down at Annabeth. Why was it all of the demigods were always afraid of her? It was all of the stupid myths that made her seem like the evilest stepmother of them all. Sure, she had attempted to destroy a few of Zeus's lovers, but she is the goddess of marriage. Hera's husband's actions couldn't affect her image. Somehow, Zeus's actions always did. "I'll let it slide." She stated with a small smile.

Annabeth's eyes widened a little bit. Hera surprised her by not yelling at her or exploding her into pieces. "Th-thank you." She said. Annabeth watched as Hera walked away from her. When she could no longer see the goddess, Annabeth went to go find Percy. A minor god interrupted her search. Annabeth danced with him for a couple of minutes.

* * *

Percy was rather popular at the party. A lot of the gods had come to talk to him. Percy had just finished talking to Apollo. He was finally able to go find Annabeth.

"You won't let me down, I hope." A voice from behind Percy said.

Percy turned around to find Poseidon smiling at him. "Dad... Hi." He said.

"Hello, Percy. You've done well."

"I won't let you down." Percy promised.

Poseidon nodded his head in answer. "Your friend Luke-"

"He's not my friend." Percy blurted out. He realized that he had just interrupted his father the moment the words came out of his mouth. "Sorry." He apologized.

"Your _former _friend Luke," Poseidon corrected. "He once promised things like that. He was Hermes's pride and joy. Just keep that in mind, Percy. Even the bravest can fall."

"Luke fell pretty hard," Percy agreed. "He's dead."

Poseidon shook his head. "No, Percy. He is not."

Percy stared at Poseidon in shock. "What?"

"Didn't Annabeth already tell you this? Luke is still a live. I've seen it. His boat sails from San Francisco with the remains of Kronos even now. He will retreat and regroup before assaulting you again. I plan on doing my best to destroy his boat with storms. However, he is making alliances with my enemies, the older spirits of the sea. They will fight to protect him."

"How can he still be alive?" Percy asked angrily. "The fall should've killed him."

Poseidon's eyebrows furrowed a little. "I don't know. Percy, beware of him. And the gold coffin, it is growing stronger."

"Well... wh-what about Atlas?" Percy asked. "What's going to prevent him from escaping again? Couldn't he just force some giant or something to take the sky for him?"

Poseidon snorted in response. "If it was that easy, he would've escaped ages ago. You see my son; the curse of the sky can only be forced upon a titan... one of the children of Gaia and Ouranous. Nobody in Kronos' army would ever accept the curse. Only a true hero, someone with strength, a true heart, and courage, would do such a thing."

"Luke did it, he let Atlas go," Percy said. "And he tricked Annabeth into saving him. Then he used Annabeth to convince Artemis into accepting the sky."

"Yes... Luke is an interesting case." Poseidon took a deep breath to say more but he was interrupted by a loud _MOOOOO_! Both Poseidon and Percy looked towards were Bessie was mooing from. They were both surprised and angered when they noticed that a couple of demigods were pushing Bessie's orb back and fourth along the crowd of people.

"I should take care of that." Poseidon groaned. We can't have the Ophiotaurus tossed around like a beach ball. Percy, please be good. We probably won't speak to each other for a while." Poseidon disappeared to go save Bessie.

Percy was going to go back to searching for Annabeth but he heard someone speak from behind him.

"Your father takes a great risk, you know."

Percy turned around to find himself facing a lady who looked almost exactly like Annabeth.

"Athena." Percy said. He hoped that his voice didn't give away his feelings. Percy didn't like the way that the goddess had treated him and Thalia. His attempt failed.

Athena smiled slightly. "Do not judge me harshly, half-blood. I know that wise council is not always popular, but I did speak the truth. You are dangerous."

"And you don't take risks?" Percy asked.

Athena nodded. "I concede the point. You could be useful. Yet... your fatal flaw could destroy us all."

Percy looked at Athena. He never actually figured out what his flaw was. Annabeth's was pride... but they never actually figured what his flaw was.

"Kronos knows your flaw, even if you don't. He knows how to study his enemies. Think Percy, how has he managed to manipulate you? First, your mother was taken away from you. Then Grover, and now my daughter Annabeth." She paused for a moment. "In each case, Kronos has used your loved ones to lure you to him. Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty. Percy, you do not know when to cut your loses. You would sacrifice the world to save your friends. That in a hero of the prophecy is very dangerous."

Percy balled his fists in anger. "That is not a fatal flaw... Just because I help my friends-"

"The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation," she said. "Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdom... that is very hard indeed."

Percy wanted to argue but Athena had a point.

"I hope the council's choice was wise." Athena said. "I will be watching, Percy Jackson. I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter. I do not think it wise for either of you. And should you begin to waver in your loyalties..." She glared at Percy. Percy realized that he wouldn't want Athena as his enemy. She would be ten times worse than Ares or Dionysus... and maybe even his father. Once Athena made a plan, she would stick to it and it wouldn't fail.

"Percy!" Annabeth said as she made her way through the crowd. She stopped short when she saw who Percy was talking to. "Oh... Mom."

"I'll leave you two for now." Athena said. She left, going the way that Annabeth had come from.

"She wasn't giving you a hard time... was she?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Percy said. "It's fine." He had so much that he had wanted to tell Annabeth but Athena had stolen a lot of his confidence. _I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter._ The words rang through his mind.

"So," Annabeth said. "You wanted to tell me something earlier?"

"I... uh..." Percy stuttered. He cleared his throat. "Was thinking that we had gotten interrupted over at Westover Hall. And... I think I owe you a dance."

Annabeth smiled. "Alright, Seaweed Brain." She said.

They slow danced for a while. Neither of them knew what the others heard but it sounded hopeful.


	14. What Did We Say About Frowning?

**Disclaimer: Go to chapter 1, 4, 5, 7, or 12.**

Zeus and Hera sat in the throne room. They were silently waiting for the rest of the gods to return from the party. Poseidon, Hephaestus, Dionysus and Demeter would not be joining them for the aftermath of the solstice. Poseidon needed to return to the sea, Hephaestus had a project to finish, Demeter had crops to grow, and Dionysus did not trust leaving Chiron alone with the campers for allotted periods of time.

Athena was the first to come back. She acknowledged Zeus and Hera and sat down in her throne with a smug look on her face. About thirty seconds after she sat down, Artemis and Apollo appeared. Apollo was finally happy. His sister was back and he did not want to tell her this but he actually missed her. Apollo and Artemis were having a discussion about what had happened back on the mountain. The twins were back together and very content at the moment. They both took their seats and went back to whispering. Hermes, Ares, and Aphrodite were the lat to come in. Aphrodite and Hermes were glaring at each other. The three gods sat in their thrones and the glaring continued. The throne room had an angry vibe flowing through it. Artemis, Athena, Hera, and Zeus were the only gods that were not affected by it.

Zeus cleared his throat. "I have noticed that Olympus is still here." He said. Hermes and Apollo rolled their eyes in response. "We never received any complaints from _any_ of you. Obviously, you were up to something but I've yet to figure out what you did. I would ask you, Athena, but I have a feeling that you were a part of whatever it is that you five did." No one answered him. The gods stared at him, waiting for their father to continue.

"None of you have anything to say?" Zeus asked as he skeptically looked at the faces of each of his children. He did not like how Aphrodite was glaring at Athena. Aphrodite sighed angrily. She would have spoken up but that would prove that she and the others had gone against what Zeus had said. Aphrodite decided that she would speak after Zeus and Hera left the room.

Zeus expected that at least one of his kids would crack. However, the gods had thousands of years to perfect their innocent facades. No one spoke up. Artemis looked around the room. Confusion was etched around her face.

"What are you asking about?" She asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Hera and I went on vacation for a few days."

"A few days?"

"Yes a few days." Zeus nodded.

"You trusted leaving those five," Artemis gestured her hand towards her siblings. "Alone on Olympus for almost a week?" Her voice was rather calm. Artemis was surprised that the gods hadn't bothered to look for her. Her siblings had been on Olympus doing nothing for a week and no one went looking for her. They probably figured that she could get herself out of the mess she was in.

"No, not necessarily." Zeus said. "Do you honestly think that I didn't set my usual guide lines?"

Artemis raised one of her eyebrows.

"I simply said that they were not allowed to bother either of us." Zeus said. "I implied that Athena and Ares were not allowed to fight, Hermes was not allowed to steal anything; Aphrodite was not allowed to bother me about any blemishes that occurred to her, and Apollo was not allowed to complain to me about everything that happened to him."

"That's funny." Apollo said.

"Very funny." Athena added in agreement. She figured out where Apollo was planning on going with his comment.

"What is so funny?" Hera asked.

"Neither of you mentioned not helping out with the half-bloods' quest." Apollo answered with a chuckle. He had finally reached where the conversation needed to get to.

"Excuse me?" Zeus and Hera asked at the same time.

"Well you see..." Hermes began. Aphrodite glared at him. He returned the glare.

"Aphrodite, if you keep frowning like that, you'll get wrinkles." Hermes pointed out.

"It takes more muscles to frown than to smile." Athena added.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Aphrodite growled.

"We don't want you to get frown lines." Athena said.

Zeus shook his head. His children, yes he still saw them as children, were always extremely random.

"Yeah." Ares spoke up. "We wouldn't want your beautiful face to get frown lines."

"And the growling," Artemis piped in. "that is oh so un-lady like." Aphrodite rolled her eyes at her "siblings" and forced a smile on her face.

"That's better." Apollo said.

Hera sighed. "Well this conversation is going no where fast. Hermes, would you _please_ continue from where you started?"

"Before or af-"

"Before you started the frowning conversation." Hera said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, alright." Hermes said with a sigh. His eyes wandered towards where Aphrodite sat. "Well we found it funny that neither of you bothered with mentioning that we were not allowed to interfere with the quest."

"Yeah." Ares and Apollo nodded in agreement.

"Suppose that one of us accidentally helped out with the most recent quest..." Athena began.

"That person wouldn't get in trouble, would they?" Apollo finished.

"You really had to say that, didn't you?" Aphrodite asked angrily.

"What did we say about frowning?" Apollo snapped. Aphrodite rolled her eyes again.

"Yes, yes we did." Hermes said. "Anyways, would we get punished?" Four heads turned towards Zeus.

"Why do you care about that?" Artemis asked. She was rather confused and annoyed with her siblings. First of all, she had no idea about what was happening. Second of all, she couldn't figure out what Apollo, Athena, and Hermes were talking about. Finally, she was annoyed by the way that no one had welcomed her back. She had been gone for almost a week, helped save the lives of a few demigods, and managed to arrive back on Olympus just in time for the winter solstice. It was as if no one had missed her. Sure, Apollo gave her a hug and spoke to her for like two minutes after the solstice but that was it.

"We're just wondering." Athena answered.

"I'm pretty sure that you all understand that none of you are supposed to help with the quests." Zeus said.

"Well, you did not say that we are not allowed to help." Ares chided.

"After thousands of years of me stating that gods are not allowed to help with the mortals' quests, I'm pretty sure that you all would understand that you can not help."

"You interfered though." Hermes pointed out.

"I did not."

"Yes you did." The gods said at the same time.

"I did not."

"You did... how do you think the mortals got away from the skeletons at the Hoover Dam?"

Zeus' mouth twitched for a moment. He was going to deny that he had helped but his kids had caught him red handed. "Well..." He began. "I suppose that I can't punish which ever one of you did that."

"Good." Ares said, hoping that the discussion was over.

"They were up to something." Hera whispered to Zeus.

"I know that much." Zeus replied. "I'm starting to think that they did something to the quest. The way that they are talking..."

"Almost hints that they did something."

Athena cleared her throat. "We can hear you." She pointed out.

"And even if we did help out with the quest," Aphrodite said a little to quickly. "We wouldn't tell you."

"They won't suspect a thing." Hermes muttered.

"What did you five do?" Zeus asked as he stood up from his throne.

"Artemis, none of the things that we have said apply to you. You can leave if you want to." Hera said.

"Nah, I'll stay." Artemis said. "Nothing interesting has happened since I got back."

"Admit it sis, you just want to see me get in trouble." Apollo moaned.

"Maybe I do." Artemis said as she flashed a smile at her brother. "And don't call me sis."

"Deep down, I know that you secretly love when I call you that, little sister.

"I am not your little sister." Artemis said slowly. "Just because my godly form makes me appear as a young girl, does not mean that I am younger than you." She attempted to stay calm. "Besides, we all know that I am two minutes older than you."

"Gods Artemis! You haven't been back for a day and you two are already bickering." Aphrodite complained. "Can't you save the fighting for later?"

Neither of the twins answered.

"As I said before Artemis and Apollo began fighting," Zeus began to speak again. "You five did something; I'd like to know what you did. If you tell me now, I promise that I will not get as mad as I will be when I found out what you did later on this week."

The room was silent. Hera sighed in exasperation.

"Father," Athena said. "We really didn't do anything wrong. I can proudly say that we followed your guidelines. Hermes, Apollo, and Ares have not set up any pranks." She decided to leave out the nail incident. "Ares and I did not fight as much as we normally do. We did not make fun of Aphrodite. Nothing was stolen or broken, and we did not destroy anything. I do not understand why you and Hera fail to trust us. Honestly, I would love to tell you how my week went but Aphrodite looks as though she will attack me... Should I _say the wrong thing_."

"Why would she consider attacking you?" Zeus asked.

Athena sighed. Zeus obviously ignored her point about mistrusting. "At the moment, I am not sure. You already said that you would not punish any one who may of helped with the quest... Do you mind if I talk to her and the others alone for a couple of minutes?"

"Go ahead." Zeus said. "Hera and I will be down the hall. Come get us when you have reached a conclusion."

"We will be back here before any of you can say lightning if we hear _any_ yelling." Hera threatened as she and Zeus left the throne room.

The remaining gods stood up and walked to the center of the throne room. They were staring at Aphrodite.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Don't play dumb with us." Hermes hissed.

"Hermes be nice." Artemis said.

"Why is she still here?" Aphrodite asked, throwing a glare at the twins.

"_Artemis_ is here because we trust her." Apollo said. He hated when Aphrodite referred to people, specifically his sister, as he, she, or it. "We know that she won't tell father what we did."

The gods nodded their heads in agreement.

"Back to the subject at hand." Athena said. "Why are you attempting to avoid the subject about what we did this week? As I said earlier, Zeus is not going to punish us for helping out with the quest."

"He definitely won't after he hears that all twelve gods helped out with the quest." Hermes said.

"All twelve of us helped?" Athena asked.

Aphrodite groaned in annoyance. "We did not."

"Yes we did." Hermes said. "Dionysus sent the wave of madness over the manticore's men, Apollo lent them a train, Aphrodite provided Percy with advice, Ares did not kill Percy, Hephaestus killed Bianca, Athena made Percy think, Zeus got the statues to spring to life, Poseidon helped Grover and the Ophiotaurus get here safely, and Artemis saved just about everyone." He paused for a moment. "Then Demeter, Hera, and I voted that we let the heroes live."

"The last three gods mean almost noth-" Aphrodite began to say.

Hermes took a deep breath. "I don't think that Hera and Demeter will like being called 'nothing'... I certainly don't like being called nothing. Anyways, I talked to both Percy and Annabeth before they left Olympus, Demeter talked to Annabeth, and Hera did not tell Annabeth off for not watching where she was going. If you ask me that was more than enough help."

"The quest was did not finish until after the heroes got back to Camp Half-Blood." Apollo said.

"The heroes are safely at camp." Athena added.

"Your point?" Aphrodite asked.

"All twelve gods helped out." Hermes said. "Athena wins the bet."

"She can't win. She wasn't supposed to win."

"What bet?" Artemis asked.

"We bet on how many gods would get involved with the most recent quest. Athena bet on twelve, all twelve of us got involved. Aphrodite is a sore loser." Apollo whispered to his sister.

"Oh," she said. "But why isn't she letting you tell Zeus and Hera about it?"

"Like I said, Aphrodite is a sore loser."

"Hey!" Aphrodite said loudly. Her voice was just an octave lower from yelling.

"Everyone else is fine with Athena winning. Aphrodite, its one bet. You didn't lose a lot of money. Can we just act like everything is back to normal?" Ares asked.

The gods started laughing.

"What?"

"The raging war god is asking everyone to calm down." Athena said. "That is the complete opposite of you."

"Yeah, okay." Aphrodite sighed.

The gods smiled. No matter how many times they fought or got on each other's nerves, they always found a way to forget about what happened and went back to being friends. Then again, that's what families are for.

"I suppose that one of us should go get Zeus and Hera." Aphrodite suggested.

"I'll go get them." Artemis said. She turned around to go get Zeus and Hera.

"No wait!" Hermes called to Artemis' retreating figure.

"What?" Artemis was a few feet away from the door to the throne room.

"I have an idea."

"Not this again." Athena groaned.

"No you'll like this." Hermes said with a mischievous grin.

The gods looked at him in silence.

Hermes took a deep breath and yelled "LIGHTNING!"


	15. Oh the Things Lightning Can Do

_Oh the Things Lightning Can Do_

**A/N: Hey readers! I know this fanfic is complete but I'd love it if you'd comment on one or more of the chapters. That way I know if you liked it or didn't. The button is right at the bottom of this chapter. I don't care if its a sentence or a paragraph! Thanks =] (Trust me, I know that you're reading. I can check my story traffic)**

**For a spiffy disclaimer, go see chapter 1, 4, 5, 7, or 12**

Hermes took a deep breath and yelled "LIGHTNING!"

A loud bang echoed around Olympus and lightning flashed everywhere.

"What did you do?" Athena asked.

"I don't know." He shrugged.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"All I did was yell lightning... Hera said that she and Zeus would be back here quicker then you can say lightning if one of us started screaming. So I figured yelling lightning would prove Hera wrong."

"That doesn't explain the bang and lightning." Apollo mused.

"I don't know... maybe Zeus' master bolt is defective?" Hermes pondered.

"Father is going to kill you for suggesting that." Artemis said.

"No he won't." Apollo retorted.

"Will!"

"Won't!"

"Will!"

"Won't!"

"Wi-"

"SHUT UP!" Ares roared. "Apollo is right. You can't kill an immortal."

"Immortal; adjective; exempt from death." Athena mumbled under her breath.

"Thank you walking dictionary." Aphrodite snapped. Athena stuck her tongue out in response.

"Why am I going to _wound_ Hermes?" Zeus chuckled as he and Hera entered the throne room.

"He yelled lightning to prove Hera wrong and there was a loud bang and lightning struck some city in New York. Then he had the guts to suggest that your lightning bolt is defective." Aphrodite said.

"You called my lightning bolt defective?"

"I only suggested that it was?"

"How does yelling lightning prove me wrong?" Hera asked.

"Well you see, you said that you and Zeus would be back here quicker than we could say lightning if any of us started to yell." Hermes mumbled.

"I still don't see how that proves her wrong." Zeus said.

"In short, neither of you were back here before Hermes yelled lightning." Athena answered.

"I see." Hera said.

"Please don't punish me!" Hermes beseeched.

"We weren't planning on punishing anyone."

"But I caused Zeus' lightning bolt to act up..."

"That wasn't your fault." Zeus groaned. "The bolt has a self defense mode. If anyone besides me yells out lightning, while they're standing in a ten foot radius of it, it will create a lightning storm."

"So New York just had a huge lightning storm because of me yelling lightning?"

"Precisely."

"Oh. I probably shouldn't do that again." Hermes said with a mischievous smile.

"No, no you shouldn't." Hera insisted.

"Don't worry I won't."

"I highly doubt that." Athena chuckled.

"I can be trustworthy when I want to."

"Yeah, last time you said that, a volcano exploded." Aphrodite said.

"I didn't know that the red button would create an explosion."

"It said **DO NOT TOUCH** in large letters." Athena pointed out.

"Well excuse me."

"If you're so trustworthy, why don't you swear on the River Styx?" Ares asked.

If it was possible, Hermes' face would have been very pale.

"Nevermind." Hermes said. "I admit that I may be tempted to yell lightning the next time I enter the throne room."

_And that is why New York would receive hundreds of lightning storms throughout the next five years in U.S. history._

_**~Fin~**_


End file.
